Ppgiitfe^:!::! i'C^- 




(lass 
Book 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 



THE EAGLE'S 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE 



From the Earliest Settlements 



1683 TO 1905 




BY 



EDMUND PLATT 



Pl'DLISHEIl HV 

PLATT & pi.Arr 

POt'GHKFEl'SIK 
, 1905 



CM^- 






THE LtBRARY OF t 
CONGRESS 

Two CoDies Kocelvw) • 

^L'G 14 1905 i 
-7 Cepyniflt Efltjv i' 

OLASS^O. AXtNwJ 

CO»»V A. * 



COI'VRICHT, ,9„5, 

nv 
I'l.ATT \ Pi.ATT. 




PREFACE. 



Ever since the publication of the Souvenir Eagle at 
the time of the completion of the Poughkeepsie Bridtje 
in i88<j I have had in mind the idea of writing a history 
of Poughkeepsie, and began then in a rather desultory 
way the collection of materials. It is doubtful, how- 
ever, if the plan would have taken definite form had 
not Mr. F. T. Smiley, of New York, induced the pub- 
lishers of the Eagle to enter into a contract with him 
a History of Poughkeepsie. similar to the histories 
1 ■ had been publishing for other cities. Preliminary 
ca ivassing was done under his direction, which showed 
th t a demand certainly existed for such a work, but 
fii ling that a satisfactory history could not be written 
■vthout long study of a great mass of material, con- 
■ iming much more time than had been anticipated, the 
ontract was surrendered and the preparation of the 
listory was turned over to me in November, 1903. 

Much material for a history of Poughkeepsie had 
been collected since the publication of the two Dutchess 
County Histories (1877 and 1882). Continuous news- 
paper files had been brought together at the Adriance 
Memorial Library or at Vassar Institute, covering the 
period from 1806 to the present, and a few earlier vol- 
umes, together with many single copies of the old 
Poughkeepsie Journal had been collected In Mr. 
Henry Booth, Mr. Tristram Coflfin ami Mr. I'rank 
Van Kleeck. Mr. Booth and Mr. Coffin liad long 
been collectors of local histi^rical documents, very 
few of which had been made use of in the county his- 
tories. Mr. \ an Kleeck had preserved in scrap books 
nearly all the historical sketches and obituary notices 
of prominent citizens published during the last twenty- 
five years, and had also collected many rare old photo- 
graphs and prints. Mr. Charles N. .Arnold had saved 
many documents of interest and value, and Mr. Silas 
Wodell had made an excellent collection of local maps. 
To these gentlemen I am particularly indebted not 
only for the u.se of their collections, but also for manv 
valuable suggestions and for aid in solving the prob- 
lems which have arisen at all stages of the work. Miss 
Helen Wilkinson Reynolds's genealogical studies and 
familiarity with the early county records have also been 
of great service. 



Many newspaiier tiles and documents of historical 
interest still remain scattered in the hands of manv 
owners, and ought to be brought together. .V good 
nian\ files of the early newspapers cannot be found, 
but iithers are treasured by their owners and are rea- 
sonably safe from destruction from everything hut fire. 
I wish to acknowledge indebtedness for much assist- 
ance from the files of the Dutchess Ob.server and of 
the Poughkeepsie Telegraph, in the office of the Xews- 
Press and continuous from 1815; from the INmgh- 
keepsie Journals, 1831-1844, in the possession of .Mr. 
A. G. Tobey, of the Courier : and from the earl\- files of 
the Guardian and of the Political Barometer belonging 
to Mrs. C. M. Nelson. Many other persons have 
assisted me with loans of papers, documents or photo- 
grajihs. including Mr. John A. Roosevelt, Mrs. Isaac 
Tompkins. ,Mr. Alfred M. Frost and Mr. Helnius W. 
ISarratt. 

The early county records, surprisingly complete 
when one considers that they have been through two 
court house fires, have been for the first time made 
easily accessible in the new court house. They contain 
much interesting historical matter which has i)revious- 
ly been overlooked. Two of the books of minutes of 
the old A'illagc of l^oughkeepsie have been lost, to- 
gether with many of the early ordinances and assess- 
ment rolls, but the first book of minutes is in good 
preservation (beginning 1803) and later deficiencies 
can generally be supplied from newspapers. The Town 
of Poughkeepsie records of elections are complete f r( mi 
1743 and have been placed in the city library. 

The State of New York has done much in recent 
years to make the work of the local historian easier and 
to add to his material. The publication of tlie Public 
Papers of George Clinton, now almost finished, is per- 
haps the most important recent State work, and as 
many of Governor Clinton's Revolutionary letters were 
written in Poughkeepsie, this work is of particular in- 
terest to the historian of Poughkeepsie. 1 am indebted 
to Mr. Hugh Hastings, State Ilistojian. for proofs of 
one of the volumes of Clinton Papers not \et pub- 
lished. 

Many local historical sketches of Poughkeepsie were 



PR KFA C F.. 



T- 



written b\' Ik-iison J. Lossing, long^ a resident of the 
place, and by Isaac Piatt, who founded the Poiigh- 
kecpsie Eagle in 1828. and began to put into print the 
stories he had heard and matters that he remembered 
in 1848. on the anniversary of the beginning of his ca- 
reer as a newspaper editor and proprietor. Later ver- 
sions of these sketches, printed mostly from twenty 
to twenty-five years later than the originals, with num- 
erous additions and omissions, were the basis of many 
of the statements in the county histories, and account 
for their inaccuracies. The original sketches are very 
valuable as guides and in matters within the recollec- 
tion of their authors, but are not to be accepted against 
the direct evidence of the records. Every effort has 
been made in the preparation of this history to trace 
statements to their sources and to obtain the main facts 
directly from unimpeachable records and contempo- 
rary documents. The con 'letion of the book has been 
long delayed, but the delay has resulted in many im- 
provements and important additions to the narrative. 
New material, in fact, is constantly coming to light, 
and the task of preparing such a history is in a sense 
endless. The author, however, must make his final 
choice of material at some time and finish his work. 



During the past two years I have published a num- 
ber of historical sketches in the Eagle with the purpose 
of bringing out additional infomiation. and much of 
value has been obtained through letters from ])ersons 
interested. 

Probably some of the genealogists will be disappoint- 
ed that the book does not include sketches of the leading 
families of the early days, but these seemed out of place 
in a chronological history and were not possible within 
the limits of the present volume. I have endeavored 
to indicate where some of the most prominent families 
came from and when they settled in the neighborhood, 
but in general have taken the names as I foimd them 
in the records. 

The photographs from which the excellent fac-sim- 
ile and other illustrations were made were nearly all 
taken by Mr. O. X. Seaman, whose work speaks for 
itself. .\ few are reprints from a series of plates made 
about twenty-five years ago by C. S. Lucas, and others 
are copies of rare photograi)hs taken by various per- 
sons. 

EDMrXD PL.VTT. 

Poughkeepsie. June ist, 1905. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



CllAI'Tl'.R I. 
Tiii: Xami' "roi-cii ki:i;isii':," \\iii:i;i'; it was 
Imkst (7i\-Kx AMI What it .\Ii;a\s — Tin: 
Ai'OKici^i'sixc, Di':kivatii)n N'(it Sustained. .9-15 

CilAI''n'.R 11. 

Cm.O.NI.M. lIlSTOUV i'i-3.? 

The First Settlers and tht Mrst Land TitlfS 16-18 

Beginnings of Development, the I'nst Road ]8-ig 

Connty Organization and the J-irst Conn Honsc. . 19-20 

The First Tax List 21 

Some Interesting Entries in the First Book of 

Records of Supervisors and .\ssessors 21 

The First Dutch Church 22 

The First English Church 23-24 

Oaths Signed by Office Holders 24 

The Precinct or Town of l'ougld<copsic 25-26 

Interesting Colonial Events 26-27 

Signs of Growth 27 

Prominent Colonial F'ainilies 29-33 

CHAPTl'.R III. 

'rill'; Ki;\()i,uTioN 34-53 

I'^arly Meetings and Ucvclopnuiu of .\nti-British 

Sentiment 34-36 

The "Associators" and tlie I'ories 36-38 

^lilitary Organization 38 

Poughkcepsie's First Boom ; Sliip Building for tlie 

Continental Navy .W-41 

The Critical Year 1777 41-42 

I'all of I'"ort Montgomery and Vaughn's Raid.... 42-46 

Poughkeepsie Becomes the State Capital 46-48 

Governor Clinton's Letters 48-51 

Continentals in Poughkeepsie 51-52 

Last Years of the War; Ihe I'ishkill Beacons.... 52-53 

ClIArTl'.R 1\'. 

I'"kiim Tin: l\i:\(ii.rri(iN iniiii-: I NCnurdK aiki.v oi- 

I in: \'ii,i.\r,|.: 171^3-17')') 54-?^ 

Janu-. Kent .=14-55 

The Poughkeepsie Journal 55-56 

Ratification of the Constitution of the United 

States 56-61 

Karly Politics in Town and County 61-62 

Rival Newspapers 62 

Slavery in Poughkeepsie 62-64 

Town Development 64-68 

The Chti rches 68 

The h'irst State School Money 69 

Incorporation as a Village 69-71 



CI I M'TI'.R \ . 

"k(iM Tilt: I.NCiiKI'nK Al'IdX nl' Tin: \ ll.l.AC.I-; 

Tin-: Ci.osi-: ok tiii-: \\'.\u oi" icSi^ 

X'illagc Organization 

The Court House h'ire. i8o() 

The Village Streets 

River Industries aiul l'"reighling 

Other Manufacturing Industries 

The Vassar Brewery 

Developing a Business Centre 

Some Popular .■\musenients 

Banks, Schools and Inccn-porated Companies 

Churches 

Newspapers and Politics 



•7-^-93 



Cil Al'I'I'lR \l. 

From Tiit: Ci.nsi-: di' rin: \\ \k m' iSij rn ■nii: 

I'a.nk- cm- iS_^7 ')5-i-7 

Gen. Tallinadge and the .Missouri Compromise.... 90-97 

Lafayette's \'isit 98-101 

The Lottery in Poughkeepsie 101-102 

Parly Changes; The Telegraph and the Dutchess 

Intelligencer 102-104 

Banks and Bankers 104-107 

The Improvement Party 108- 1 10 

The Whaling Companies 1 lo-i 15 

( )tlur Industries "5-1 17 

Tlie l-'.ra nf the Stcanihoat 1 17-119 

The Keser\ciir and the Big h'ire of 1836 119-120 

The hire Deparluu-iU 120 

Churches and Schools 121-T26 

The Real Instate I'.oom 126-127 



CM AI'TI'.R X'lr. 

'kmm Tin: 1'a\k(U' iX^^7 -i'ii tiii': Lviuki'iiuatkin 
OI' rin-: CriA'. 1854 .■ i_'8-i5. 

Political I'.ffects ,,f the Panic. Senator X. P. Tall- 

madge and the Conservatives 12.S-135 

The Panic and the Improvement Party 135-139 

Building of the Hudson River Railroad 139-143 

Schools, the I'irst h'ree Sclv.ids I44-14S 

'ihe Pulilic Lilir.-uy .ind the Lyceum T45-146 

New Churches 146-148 

The Rural Cemetery T48 

.\ Daily Newspaper aiul Gas Light 148 

The Village h'irc Department t49-i50 

.A City Charter 150-151 



TA li L E OF CONTENTS. 



CMAITER \III. 

PRO-Nf Till-: InXORI'ORATIOX Ol" Tllli CiTV To THIC 

Civil War 1 53" > 74 

Beginnings of City Government 153-154 

The Dutch Church and Other I'ircs 154-156 

New Churches and Charitahle Institutions 156-15" 

Business and Other Development 157-162 

Schools, the Law School and Eastman College 162-166 

Founding of Vassar College 166-168 

Sports— Base Ball. Ice Yachting 168-171 

Politics Before the War I7i-i"4 

CllAI'TEK IX. 

TiiK Civil, War i7.=;-i')5 

Early Meetings and Enlistments 175-181 

The 128th Regiment 182 

The 150th Regiment 182-183 

The 159th Regiment and the First Drafts 183-185 

Echoes of the Draft Riots— Home Events 185-188 

Politics— The Campaign of 1864 188-191 

Eastman College — Business Conditions I9'-I93 

The Sanitary Fair I93 

The Close of the War I93-I95 

CH.\PTER X. 

From Tin: Closk ok tui-: War to tiii-; Panic of 

1873 l()7-222 

Return of the Soldiers 197 

Wonderful Success of Eastman College 198-202 

Opening and Organization of Vassar College 202-204 

Changes Among City Schools 204-205 

Politics .' 205-206 

Churches and Religious Institutions 206-208 

The Hudson River State Ho.spital 208 

Manufacturing and Other Industries 209-210 

Growth and Municipal Improvement, the Water 

and Sewer Systems 210-214 

The Poughkeepsie and Eastern and City Rail- 
ways 214-216 

The Real Estate Boom 216-219 

The Poughkeepsie Bridge 219-221 

Social Life, Sports and Cluhs 221 

CHAPTER XL 

From Till-; Panic ok 1873 'i" ''■'"• Pkksknt 

( 1905) 223-267 

Reducing Expenses, The Charter of 1874 and Po- 
litical Changes 223-225 

Reorganization and Readjustment 225-227 

Building the Poughkeepsie Bridge : 227-230 

The Old and the New— The River Front 230-235 

The Old and the New — Up-Town Industries 235-2.V,j 

The Charter of 1883— Recent Politics 239-247 

The New Vassar College 247-248 

Tlic Benefactions of Matthew Vassar, Jr., and 

John Guy Vassar 248-250 

Other Benefactions and Organizations 250-251 

New Churches 251-252 

Recent Puhlic Improvements. Schools 252-2fK) 

The l''ire Department and the Military 26o-2()3 

Social Life, Clnh. Fraternities, etc 263-266 

Conclusion 266-267 



APPEXDIX. 

P)ioGRAruiCAi. .\i"i'i:.\i)i.\ 270-299 

Biographical and historical sketches of William Samuel 
.Ackert. M. D.. Charles N. .\rnold. Seward Barculo. Joseph 
F. Barnard. H. W. Barnum. M. D.. Oliver H. Booth. Capt. 
John H. Brinckerhoflf. Samuel H. Brown, Edward M. 
Burns. M. D.. .■\llison Butts. Col. Henry F. Clark. Martin 
W. Collins, George Corlies, Jacoh Corlies. John H. Cotter. 
M. D., The DeLaval Separator Company, John DePeyster 
Douw. The Dutchess Insurance Company. The Eagle, Ed- 
ward Elsworth. James Emott. Evertson .Ancestry. Clement 
Carrington Gaines, Stephen G. Guernsey, Martin Heer- 
mance, James Hoyt, M. D.. George Innis, John H. Ketcham, 
Francis G, Landon. Charles Edward Lane. Frank B. Lown, 
Luckey, Piatt & Co.. George W. Lumb, John E. Mack, J. 
Marill. M. D.. Thomas McWhinnie. Joseph Morschanser, 
George Xagengast. William Nelson. Stephen Palmer. D. D. 
S., E. H. Parker, M. D., .A. H. Peckham. M, D.. J. Wilson 
Poucher, M. D., Poughkeepsie Glass Works, Poughkeepsie 
Savings Bank, Poughkeepsie Trust Company, Poughkeepsie 
Underwear Company, William Thacher Reynolds, River- 
view Military Academy. James E. Sadlier, M. D.. Robert 
Sanford. Jacob Schrauth and Sons. Oscar Nelson Seaman, 
John Sutcliffe. Albert. Tower. Robert K. Tuthill. M. D., 
David B. Ward. M. D.. Charles Wheaton. James L. Wil- 
liams. 

Ge.nkral Appexdix 300-313 

Inscriptions on Stones in Old Dutch Burial Ground — 
.300. Signers of the Revolutionary Pledge of .\ssocia- 
tion, 1775. Poughkeepsie Precinct — 300-301. Those Who 
Refused to Sign — 301. Names of Persons in the Precinct 
of Poughkeepsie Whose Personal Property was Confiscated 
and Sold in 1777 — 301. Persons Who Manumitted their 
Slaves in the Town of Poughkeepsie — 301-302. Persons 
Who Registered Slave Births under .\ci of March 29. 1799 — 
302. One of the Forms for Registering the Birth of a 
Slave under Act of 1799 — 302. Militia Officers 1786- 
1799 — 302-303. Trustees of the Village of Poughkeepsie 
1799-1854 — 304-305. First Ordinances N.iming Streets — 
305-306. Population Statistics for County of Dutchess. 
Town, Village and City of Poughkeepsie — 306. Sale of 
Poughkeepsie Hotel in 1804 for Political Headquarters, with 
List of Subscribers to the Stock — 306-307. Names of 
Signers of the First Paving Petitions on Main Street (1812). 
Cannon Street (1814), Garden Street (1833), Mill Street 
(1833). Market Street (1831). Lower Main Street (1831) — 
307-308. Clinton Catechism (1811') — 308-309. .\ppeal 

of the Conservatives of 1821 against Revision of the Stale 
Constitution, with list of Signer.s — 310. Buildings in 
Poughkeepsie in 1841 — 310-311. Postmasters of Pough- 
keepsie — 311. Subscribers to Hudson River Railroad 
Stock, January. 1847 — 311. Names of Original Plot Hold- 
ers in Reformed Dutch Cemetery on Hyde Park Road, just 
north of City Limits (1810) — 311. Names of Original 
Plot Holders in Baptist Burial Ground on Garden Street 
(1812)— 312. The First Lamp District (1850—312. 
List of Poughkeepsians Who Served on the Steamboats 
Reliance (.Vidctte) and Dutchess (Lancer) in the Civil 
War — 312. List of City Officers, Mayors, Recorders. 
City Chamberlains. City Treasurers, City Attorneys, and 
Chief Engineers of the Fire Department — 312-313. 

y\l)l)K.\liA AND ICrRAIA 3I4 

L\iiK.\ 315-328 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Map nf roughkci'psii- and Xiciiiitx' in 179S 

The Waterfall at the Month of the Fall Kill 

Scene on the Mahwenawasig or Wappinycrs Kill 

The Van Kleeck Ilonse (Lossing. iiS.vS) 

I'jiglish Church "C'llchc 1 lonse" 

The 1 lolTnian or Sherman 1 louse 

lli-nr\ Livingston House in 1870 

Map of I'onghkeepsie in 1770 

Rear View of Noxon House 

I-'ac-simile of Commission Signed hy Governor Clinton.. 

The lueritt or "Clinton House," hefore alteration 

I"ac-simile of State Currency Printed hy John Holt 

Seal Used on State Connnissions 

Fac-siniile of "Extra" printed during the Constitutional 

Convention in 1788 

Map of Poughkeepsie in I7()0 

House Purchased by Governor Clinlon in 1799 

h'piscopal "Parsonage House" 

Map nf Poughkeepsie in 1799 

Coint 1 louse and "Lawyers' Row," in 1870 

Court 1 louse and Hotel, from Turnpike Map 

Tlic W'inans, or Southwick House 

riic George Booth House 

The .Arnold Cotton I'^actory 

Cannon Street from Liberty west in 1875 

Fac-siniilc Middle District I'.ank Xote 

Reynolds 1 louse 

b"ac-siniilc Lottery Circular 

I'uilding of Poughkeepsie Trust Company ( formerly the 

Poughkeepsie Bank) 

The Vassar Street Brewery 

l'"ac-simile Stock of Poughkeepsie Whaling Company.... 

Maj) of Poughkeepsie in 1S37 

I'ac-^iniile Note of Dutchess Whaling Company 

Poughkeepsie Glass Works 

l"ac-Simile Stock of Poughkeepsie Silk Company 

Xortbern 1 lotcl 

City Hall, formerly the Village Hall 

Old Christ Church 

Presbyterian, afterwards L'niversalist. Cluircb 

College Hill School Building 

h'ac-similc Stock of College Hill Scliool 

Poughkeepsie in 1836 from College Hill 

The N. P. Tallmadge House 

l-'ac-simile liill of Journal ami h'.aglc 

The \'.'is>ar Brewery at the River 

Poughkeepsie in 1840 

Old Picture of Vassar Brewery 

The Lower Furnace ( t88o) 

The Cannon St. Methodist Church 

Presbyterian Church 

"Goose Neck" Fire Engine 

Old Phoenix Hose House 

Poughkeepsie in 1852 

(.'hurcli of the I loly Comforter 

Red Mills Buildings 

Main Street in i860 

Dutchess Insurance Co.'s Building 

Corner Main and Market Streets in 1861 

I"ac-simile of Poughkeepsie War Shinplaster ( lirst series) 
l'",ic-simile of Poughkeepsie War Shinplasters (second 



96 



Market Street in 1865 198 

I'.astman Park in 1875 joo 

The Soldiers' Fountain . . 200 

Vassar College in 1870 J03 

The Filter Beds in 1875 212 

Poughkeepsie & Eastern Station ji 5 

Eastman Terrace in 1875 Ji8 

Corner of Main and Garden Streets after the hire of 

Dec. 26, 1870 219 

Old Buildings on the Site of Kirchner Hall 219 

Walter Adriance's Cartoon of 11. G. ICastman 221 

1875 Snow Scene, Main Street 227 

Bridge Caisson ( 1877) 228 

The Poughkeepsie Bridge 229 

Looking South from the Bridge ( 18S9 ) 232 

The Poughkeepsie Iron Works 233 

De Laval Separator Comiiany's Buildings 234 

N. Y. C. & H. R. R. R. Station ( 1880) 235 

Factory of Poughkeepsie L'nderwear Company 236 

Main Street in 1880 237 

Old Telegraph (Enterprise) Building 242 

The Frederick F. Thompson Memorial Library at Vas- 
sar College 247 

The First Dutchess County Academy 253 

The Building of Luckcy, Piatt & Co 256 

Residence of the late Capt. John H. Brinckerhoff 273 

The Eagle Building 279 

Interior view Jacob Schr.iuth's Sons' Ice Cre;un Parlors 

and Salesroom 2:^ 



I'OkTK.MT.S. 



Gov. George Clinton.... 45 

George B. Ivvertson 80 

Tunis Van Kleeck 87 

Hon. William Nelson.... 93 

George P. Oakley 99 

Matthew \'assar 108 

George Corlies 109 

Hon. Seward Barculo... 132 

Isaac Piatt 134 

James Emotl 1.^2 

George Wilkinson 154 

Charles W. Swift 155 

.Albert Tower 159 

Robert Sanford 163 

Rev. D. G. Wright 165 

Matthew Vassar 1(19 

Oliver H. Booth 170 

Charles Wheaton 177 

Dr. Robert K. T\ithill.. 180 

James Bowne 183 

Hon. Homer .\. Nelson.. 1S4 

George Innis 187 

Judge Joseph F. Barnard i8ij 

Hon. John H. Ketcham.. 195 

.Albert Van Kleeck 199 

Harvey G. Eastman 2or 

Dr. lulward H. Parker.. 207 

Thomas McWhimne .... 209 



William T. ReynobU.... 211 

John Sutcliffe 213 

Jacob Corlies 217 

Frank B. Lown 226 

John H. Brinckcrhoflf 231 

John I. Piatt 238 

.Allison Butts 239 

Hon. Martin Heermance 240 

J.iuKs W. Hinklcy 241 

Hon. Charles N. Arnold 243 

Samuel H. Brown 245 

Joseph Morschauser .... 246 
Hon. Edward Elsworth. 249 

William W. Smith 2^2 

Martin W. Collins 254 

Clement C. Gaines 255 

Joseph B. Bisbec 256 

Dr. Charles E. Lane.... 257 

George W. Lumb 258 

George Nagengast 261 

Dr. H. F. Clark 262 

I'rancis G. Landon 2(15 

Dr. H. W. Barnuni 272 

John E. Mack 288 

Dr. Stephen Palmer.... 290 
William IT. Schrantb.... 296 

Jacob Schrantb 20(1 

I'.dward L. Scbranlb.... 296 




■wAMsumiin 



CHAPTER I. 



The Name "PoughkkiU'Sii:," W'hkre It Was First Given and W'ii 

Derivation Not Sustained. 



It Mkans — The "AroKEErsiNC 



1 'ouj^hkeepsie is oiu' of the old towns of Xew 
York State, dating; well back into Colonial times, but 
it was not one of the first settled, and from its earliest 
beginnings, near the close of the seventeenth century 
down to the Revolution, which made the United States 
an independent nation, its growth was very slow. 
The name goes back of the origin of the town itself 
to the time when the Indians held undisputed control. 
The first Dutch farmers and woodsmen found the 
name here when they came, and much fun has been 
made of their many and various attempts to spell it 
as they heard it ])ronounced by the Indians around 
tlu-m. Phonetic s])elling was the rule in those early 
(lays, which should liave delighted the spelling re- 
former. l'",ven the coninionest names were frequently 
spelled in two or three different ways in the same docu- 
ment. An extreme instance of phonetic spelling is 
found on page ^j of Liber .\ of Deeds, recorded in the 
County Clerk's Office of Dutchess County, where 
"hutchens river" is mentioned in the bounding of a 
piece of land. 

All historians who have had any occasion to men- 
tion I'oughkeepsie have gravely informed us that the 
name has been spelled in more than forty different 
wa\s. which is after all not belter than the record of 
Schenectady or of many other towns the Indian names 
of which are long enough to admit some variety in the 
arrangement of letters. Not all the various spellings 
were the work of the early settlers, and some have been 
added by the antiquarians and etymologists in their 
efforts to explain the derivation and meaning of the 
name. 

The word . I f'okccpsiiii^. from which the name 
l'oughkee])sie is generally believed to have been de- 
rived, is, I think I shall be able to show, a pure inven- 
tion. No such form is tn hf found in any recorded 
deeds or documents, and there is no evidence that it 
was ever used by the Indians here or anywhere else. 
Its origin is ascribed to Schoolcraft,' who was fol- 

'I have not been able after considerable searching to find 
this in Schoolcraft's works, bnt see Rnttcnbcr's "Indian 
Tribes of TIndson's River," page 371. The word, with the 
popniar definition "safe harbor," is given in a pamphlet on 



lowed by lienson J. Lossing and later writers. Mr. 
William Wallace Tooker, author of the .\lgonc|ui;!n 
Series of monographs on Indian names, and probabl\ 
the leading authority on eastern Indian nomenclature, 
says of .If'okcc/^siiii^, in a contribution to the Ameri- 
can Anthropologist (1899, page i/o), "no warrant 
can be found for that form nor for such a translation" 
(safe harbor). There has been some variety in trans- 
lation introduced, however, mostly by recent writers. 
The word has been defined as meaning " safe harbor," 
" place of refuge," " safe harbor for small boats." 
"pleasant harbor," "deep water,"' and "at the rock 
pool,"- certainly a pleasing variety.* Mr. Lossing and 
others seem to have been much impressed with 
the harbor idea, possibly from some such legend as 
that related in Lossing's Hudson (p. 188) about the In- 
dian maiden who is said to have fled w'ith her lover 
across the river in a canoe, finding a "safe harbor" 
at the mouth of the Fall Kill. Having satisfied them- 
selves as to the proper translation the next thing was 
to provide a word to translate, not so very difficult if 
you can combine scraps of the dialects of several dif- 
ferent Indian nations. "Apokeepsing," or "Apokeep- 
sinck." was the result. 

Now, unless we accept the legend, which did not 
originate, so far as we can find out. until long after 
the Revolution — if indeed it was not invented by Mr. 
Lossing himself — there was no reason for construct- 
ing a word to mean " safe harbor." Indian names 
were generally given to some conspicuous feature of 
the land or water, and there was no " safe harbor" at 
the mouth of the Fall Kill as a conspicuous feature. 
It must be evident to any one who will examine the 
locality that the falls were almost at the river's edge. 
Two hundred years of erosion, as well as the filling 
in of the bay or " cove" between Reynolds' Hill and 
the Kaal (or Call) Rock, are to be considered. If the 

Indian names published by the U. S. government and compiled 
chiefly from Schoolcraft's works. 

JW. M. Beauchamp — ''Indian Name in New York." p. 
19. 

-W. R. Gerard — American Anihrnpologist. i.So<) vol., p 
5,S6. 

■"•"Dnchess'' County History, p. 357 and note. 



10 



HISTORY OF P U G II K E HP S I E. 



inlet was small an<l cirtaiiily not an important fea- 
ture, the broad cove conlil hardly have been worthy of 
special designation as a harbor, for there were doz- 
ens of other coves, many of them deeper, within short 
paddling distance. Finally it may be worth while to 
remember that canoes navigating a river like the Hud- 
son do not stand in great need of harbors, but when 
wind or waves threaten can be run ashore and pulled 
out of hann's way wherever there is a bit of beach. 

While there is no evidence that such a word 
as Apokccpsiug was used to describe either the lit- 
tle inlet or the cove at the mouth of the Fall Kill. 
and no reason why a word meaning " safe harbor" 
should have been employed to describe that partic- 
ular locality, there is the best of evidence that the 
word " Poughkee]>sie" in a form very much like the 
present was u.seil by the Indians to designate the one 
conspicuous feature of the iicighhborhood — the water- 
fall, which during much of the year, and certainly at 
all times of high water, must have attracted attention 
from all passing canoes or other vessels on the river. 
This waterfall is very naturally named in the first 
known deed to property within the present city lim- 
its, as will appear. .\ somewhat similar word was 
Iwrrowcd from the Indians and used by the first 
settlers as the name of the Casper Kill, which flows 
through the \'assar College grounds and empties into 
the river at Clinton Point. 

.•\t length, long before there was any town of 
I'oughkeepsie. or village of Poughkee])sic, the name 
was used to describe a considerable section of land, as 
many early deeds on record in the County Clerk's 
Office clearly show. It certainly belongs to the town 
of Poughkecpsie, as well as to the section included in 
the city. .\ curious print' which purports to be "A 
\'iew in Hudson's River of I'akepsey & the Catts- 
Kill Mountains from Sopus Island in Hudson's River," 
is evidence of the wide application of the name. The 
I)rint declares itself to be the rcjjroduction of a sketch 
made "on the Spot by his Excellency Governor 
Pownal," and is a view looking northward from 
Fsopus Island, (lovernor Pownal published a series 
of prints of scenes in America, and was in this country 
between October, 1753, and June, 1760. Long before 
that time there was a court house and a church, a tav- 
ern or two. and the nucleus of a village well started on 
the hill where is now Poughkecpsie. but they do not 
seem to have had exclusive title to the name, tlmugli 
Governor Pownal stretched his license as an artist a 
poorl deal when he turned his back on them and car- 
ried the name above Esopus Island. 

'In the .\<lri,incc Mcmori.il Libr.-iry, north side of cii- 
tr.incc. 



The first' certain mention of the word Poughkecp- 
sie that I have been able to find occurs in an Indian 
deed, the earliest known conveyance of property now 
in the corporate limits of the city, recorded among the 
notarial papers in the Fort Orange Records at the 
County Clerk's Office in Albany, and published in 
Documents of Colonial History, Vol. XIII, page 571, 
as follows : 

This fifth da\- of May 1683 appeared before 
nic Adrian van Ilpendam. Notary Public in 
Now AIban\ and tlie undersigned witnesses a 
llighland hulian. called .Massany. who declares 
herewith that he has given as a free gift a 
bouwery to Pieter Lansingh and bouwcry to 
Jan Smeedes, a young glazier, also a waterfall 
near the bank of the river to build a 
mill thereon. The waterfall is called 

Poog^hkct'csingh and the land Minnisingh 
situate on tlie Eastside of the river. He 
acknowledges this gift herewith in the presence 
of their Honors the Commissaries Cornelis van 
Dyke and Dirck Wesselsen Ten Brock, who 
themselves have heard the Indians testify, one 
called Speck and the other X'echpaidmo. that the 
aforesaid .Massany had surrendered the aforesaid 
laud to the said Pieter Lansingh and Jan Smeedes 
witlK)ut retaining for him or for his descend- 
ants the right to claim even a stuyver's worth 
from them : also that the said Indian Massany 
is the lawful owner and inheritor of the said land. 

The foregoing has been inter|)reted in the 
presence of their .said honors the commissaries, 
by the wife of Jurien Tcunissen and the afore- 
said Indian has signed it with his own hand at 
Xew .\ll)an\, mi the date as above. 

This is the mark 

made by s^ Massany 

himself ^ which I 

certify 

.\drian van ll]H'n(lani. Xot Public 

As witnesses 

Cornelius van D\k 
Dirck Wcsslsen. 

The S])elling by the Dutch scribe of the wurd the 
Indians used in describing the waterfall. Pooi^hkcpc- 
siiii^li. it will he noticed, is not so very tmlike that 
which has come down to us as the official and final 
s|)elling of the name, first <i| the precinct nr tnwnsh'p. 
then of the village, and at leiii^th uf the cit\ which 
grew near the waterfall. 

There is. however, a still earlier Indian dt^vd on 
record in Albany which gives a somewhat similar 
name to a stream. It is (|uoted by Ruttenber in his 
"Indian Tribes of Hudson's River" (p. 371). and 
here occurs the first questioning of the authenticity of 

'Sec also Irving EUiiig's "Dutch Village Coiniiuinitics of 
tlic Hudson River," p. 40, note. 



/f / s T (1 /,• y OF /'O r a ii k /■: /■: /'s / /■; 



11 



Apokccpsiiii;. Ritttcnher's custom was to look for 
documentary evidence of the earliest forms of Indian 
names, instead of accepting them on tradition alone. 
" In a deed to Arnot Veil, 1680, covering the tract," 
says he, " the boundaries are described as ' beginniu"- 
at a creek called Pacahsiiig, by the river side ;' in a 
petition from William Caldwell, the orthography is 
Pogkecpkc; in an affidavit by Myndert Harmance, it 
is Pokccpsinck ; in other papers the jircvailing or- 
thography is Pokccpkc, and finally it is found applied 
to a pond of water lying in the vicinity of the city 
and its signification given: or "nniddy pond,' an ex- 
planation that accords well with the acce])ted interpre- 
tation of Raiiicpogli — a simple generic term for \>i>\\i\. 
or ponds, modified by locality or character." 

^Ir. William Wallace Tooker, in a pajier publishcil 
in the .American Anthropologist in 1899, taking the 
evidence of the Veile deed, concluded that " Pough- 
keepsie" was one of a long series of names derived 
from the Algonquian term "Poquosin," which indi- 
cated, according to Mr. Tooker, a place where a stream 
overflowed in time of freshet, or where it opened out 
into a shallow pond. The term was ap])lied by the 
early settlers in many places throughout the east to 
swamps and streams, and with a wide variety of 
spellings. 

The deed above ([noted is in Dutch, and is recorded 
in the Fort Orange Records. Book 3. Deeds, p. 72, and 
dated June 15, 1680, or three years before there was 
any Dutchess County. It is the earliest deed I have 
found to land within the ]iresent limits of the county. 
There are two partial translations or abstracts of it 
which differ somewhat. One is published in the Docu- 
ments of Colonial History XIII, 345, as follows: 

"Indian deed for Land given by the Indian 
owners Kashejian alias Calkocn. Was])acheck 
alias Spek,' and Phillipuwas, having power of 
attorney from .\wannis. one of the owners, to 
Arnout Cornelissen \ icie as ;i present, 'Vhv land 
consists of three flats through which a kil c;ilkd 
Myitacliki\- runs, nue being about 25 morgens and 
lying on tiu' Xorthside of the Kil. the other twn 
on the Siuuliside containing together alxml 1 _' 
morgens. The grant includes the above kil t'rnni 
the river to the second fall called Matapan. a (Us- 
ance of about three English miles, also the wood- 
land adjoining it and stretching about two English 
miles to the Xorth and one mile to the South of the 
above described land along the river and liack 
from the river as far as the aforesaid second fall. 

'It will be noticed that an Indian of the same name is 

nieiitioiK'd in the Pooghkopcsingli waterfall deed. 



including two small kils. one in the woods to the 
Xorth, which emjjties into the river and is called 
i'akakeing. the other emptying into the large Kil 
from the SmUh. 

The other translated abstract is in the State library 
in manuscript, and contains the important addition 
that the kill, here spelled IVynachkcc, on which the 
land lies is "' opposite Danskammer." The kill in the 
W(iods to the north is here spelled Pakakcincg. which is 
the spelling of the Dutch deed, still a perfectly legible 
document as recorded. 

These early deeds, and also many of the land 
patents from the crown, were without punctuation, and 
the boundaries are very indefinite, sometimes doubtless 
])urposely left so in order that the land might be taken 
\\\) where it seemed most valuable. In this deed the 
words as to the location " opposite Danskammer" arc 
in the margin. Now Danskammer* was a point well 
fi.xcd at that time. Capt. Couwenhoven lay there in 
his sloop negotiating with the Indians after the mas- 
sacre at Wiltwyck (Kingston) in 1663. and it is 
frequently mentioned in the old records. The only 
kill that can be called " opposite Danskammer" is the 
\\'a])pingers, and fortunately by a succession of docu- 
ments we can trace this land far enough to show defi- 
nitely that this is the stream called "IVynachkcc;' 
and not the Fall Kill. In the notarial papers at 
Albany there was recorded only two years after the 
Arnout Cornelissen \'iele deed, a " bond and mtirtgage 
given by a Highand Indian, Tapieas, for a debt to 
Lawrence van .\le and Gerrit Lansing, secured by 
his land situate upon PIndson's River, on the Eastsidc. 
nearly opposite Danskammer. it being a flat on the 
West side of a Kil called JVyiiacItkcc beginning at the 
second fall, where Aernout Cornelissen 's land ends."- 

Ily 1685 crown grants or " patents" were begin- 
ning to be given for large tracts of land in Dutchess 
County and the settlers on the Arnout \'iele land, 
presently found themselves in danger of being dis- 
possessed despite their Indian deeds: hence in 1704 
we tlnd \'iile. who was a well-known man, joining 
witli I'ieter Lansing (either the same man mentioned 
with Jan Smecdcs in the deed granting the Poogli- 
kcpcsiiigh waterfall, or his son"), in an ap])lication for 
a jiatent to make his title good. This document is in 
I'jiglish. and is in excellent preservation (page 183. 
\'ol. III. Land Papers) in the Secretary of State's 
Office. In it the boundaries become more easilv fol- 



iSce Rnttcnber. "Indian Tribes of Hudson's River," pp. 
383 and 29. 

^Docs. Col. Hist, XIH. 572 (VCallighan is certainly wrong 
in placing this land in I'ntnam County, 



12 



HISTORY OF P U GHKEEPSIE. 



lowed and the name Wynachkcc is not mentioned, 
but Piicaksing comes to the front. It reads as fol- 
lows : 

To his Excellency Edward \'icount 
Cornbury, Captain General and 
Governor in Chief, etc. 

The humble petition of Pieter Lansing and 
.\rnout Cornelisson \'iele 

Sheweth 

That whereas ye above named Pieter Lansing 
by liis petition formerly prayed a Patent for a 
certain piece of land in Dutchess County lying 
on Hudson's River beginning at a Creek called 
Pacaksing b\- ye river side running in a straight 
line three English miles Eastward into the 
woods thence to Matapan fall, thence westward 
along ye great kill, to Wappingis creek thence 
along Hudson's river Northward to Pacaksing 
creek aforesaid which is the .same land which 
certain Indian Proprietors thereof, the 15th day 
of [une 1680 gave as a free gift and granted 
and conveyed ye same to ye above namcl Arnout 
Corneliesson Viele as more fully appears by a 
certain writing under ye seal of ye tovvne of 
.\lbany taken out of ye records there by ye said 
.\rnnut: having had leave from Gr. Edmond 
.\ndros then at .Albany to accept of ye same from 
ye Indians in consideration of his long ami 
faithful .service to ye Government as Indian 
Interpreter. All which ye said .\rnout by his 
joyning in ye signing of this Petition does testi- 
fy and aver to be truth, and hereby acknowldge 
to have granted and conveyed ye said Pietor 
Lansing for a valuable consideration ye 26th 
day of June iTxp. 

Your Petitioners therefore humbly pray your 
Ex'cy will be graciously pleased to grant a 
jiatent under his seal of this province to ye said 
Lansing for ye sd lands as above mentioned 
to his only use and behoof having a great charge 
of children under a moderate Quit Rent. 

And in duty boimd shall 
ever pray 

Pieter Lansing 
.\rnout Viele 

This interesting document is endorsed on the 
back: " Read in council 13 .\])ril 1704 ordered to 1\- 
on the table 4th May 1704 granted." 

It is perfectly clear tliat the Pacaksing or Pakak- 
cincg Kill mentioned in these pai)ers was the Casjier 
Kill, and the grant to \'eile, instead of covering the 
tract wiiere Poughkeepsic now is, as Ruttenber 
thought, was to land between the Casper Kill and the 
\\'api>ingers, the line rumiing from the mouth of tlu 
Casi)er Kill to the second fall (Matajian) just 
above \Vai)])ingers Lake, and including the flats where 
the lake now is. The name Wynachkcc pro])erly ap- 
plied to these flats which arc known to have been 



cultivated by the Indians.' The Schuyler patent,* 
dated 1688, which included much of the present town 
of Poughkeepsie, was "Bounded on the South & East 
by a Certaine Creek that runs into Hudson's River on 
the North side of a Certain House now in the Posses- 
sion and occupacon of one Peter the Brewer, the said 
creek being Called by the Indians where it runs into 
the River Thanackkonek & where it Runs further up 
into the Woods Pietawicktquasseick." In a transfer 
from Schuyler to Sanders and Harmense (Lib. A, p. 
276, Dutchess Co. Deeds) the same long Indian name 
is given with the statement. "Known by the Christians 
for Jan Casperses Creek." I believe it the same name' 
as Pacaksiiii^ or Pakakciiicg. spelled with more let- 
ters. The name may easily have come from the 
.Vlgonquin term Poqiiosin, which w'ould have been 
a])propriate enough for much of the u])per part of the 
Casper Kill along which are a number of flood plains 
of considerable size for a hilly country. The level 
plain, partly swamp, near the brick yard just beyond 
Arlington, will be recalled as one, and also the tlat 
lands along the tributary stream, the Fountain Kill, 
that crosses College .\ venue and flows tlnough \ as- 
sar College Lake. 

Indians ap]ilied such terms as Poijiiosiii and 
U'yiuiclikcc. as descriptive terms to localities, and 
they were borrowed by the early settlers, who did not 
clearly umlerstand their significance or limitations, 
and extended as names of streams throughout their 
courses. The same terms may have been a])])lied by the 
Indians to some small flats along the Fall Kill and 
Pacaksing may have been appropriated by some of the 
settlers as the name of a pond within or near the pres- 
ent limits of the city of Poughkee])sie. The word may 
thus have had an influence upon the extension of some 
of the forms of "Poughkeeiisie" to a considerable 
stretch of territory, and may have contributed to the 
wide variations of s])elling, but it disappears as a 
name of the Casper Kill, even in its long form, soon 
after the first transfers of land are luatle. and the 
Cas])er Kill is too far from the scene of the first set- 
tlements, too far from the mill-site and waterfall 
granted to Jan Smeedes to have been a determining 
influence in naming the growing hamlet. 

With this in mind I wrote Mr. William Wallace 
Tooker. and asked him if the form Poo>^likcf'csiiii:,li. 

'My authority for this st.itoment is Mr. Wilh.iin K. Roy of 
Wappingcrs Falls, who has studied the subject tlioroughly and 
contributed many historical articles to the Chronicle and 
.Vews-Prcss. The name Mawenawasigh was given to the 
Wappingcrs creek in tlic Ronibout patent which covered tliis 
same territory 1683. Book of Patents for 16S0-1686, p. 72, 
also D. C. History, p. 49. 

2Rook of Patents for 1686-1696, p. 325. 

sSec Mr. Tookcr's letter at end of chapter. 



HISTORY OP p u G H K n n p s I n . 



13 



as t^ivcn in tho Jan Smeedes deed of 1683, could not 
haw l)ci'n rightly apjilii-d nccordins; to the principles of 




. M, Wiilcrfall in iy04. 

Indian nomenclature as descriptive of the waterfall 

conveyed for a mill, lie replied: 

As far as my own etymology of the name is 
concerned, as given in my paper on the name 
Poqiiassou, the main stem of Pooghkcpcsingh, is 
the same as I give there; but this fuller form of 
the name, as is evident, warrants a different in- 
terpretation and application, for we know it was 
applied to a waterfall. The prefix Pooghkc — 
Mohegan Pawkc — denotes the act of breaking, 
opening, beating out, etc. The same base enters 
into many words having the idea of division or 
separation. In comjiosition pc is the radical for 
"water," s is the diminutive, ingh, locative, de- 
noting a place where the action is performed. 
Thus we have from this analysis Pooghkc-pc-s- 
ingli, "where the water breaks," "runs over," 
"falls down," or "opens out." The name will 
bear these translations and still be correct. This 
etymology, as you will notice, and as you have 
believed, gives the name to the falls where it 
was originally bestowed according to the " High- 
land Indian Massany." I am glad to be able 
from your suggestions to modify my former in- 
terpretation and api)lication of the name. To tell 
the truth I have always had some doubts about 
the name being the exact equivalent of Poquasson 
or its varieties owing to the insistance of the 
early notations of its modern form, i. e.. Pogh- 
keepke. 1702. Pokeepsinck, 1703. Poghkeepsie, 
1760. Poughkipsingh. i7<'>~. The present render- 



ing, which is now undoubtedly correct, makes the 
name decidedly more interesting and nuich more 
satisfactory in every way. 

In a postscript' Mr. Tooker added: "It is quite 
possible that the name Pacaksing is entirely distinct 
from Pooghkcpcsingli and applied to some other 
portion of the stream." I have found no document- 
ary evidence that it was applied to any stream in 
this neighborhood except the Casper Kill. The \'an 
Kleeck deed,- 1697, one of the earliest transfers from 
the patentees, seems to show the influence of the In- 
dian deed of 1683 to Pieter Lansing and Jan Smeedes, 
for it refers to the patent as conveying " that Tract 
of Land called by the native Indians Mt'iniisiiih and 
Poglikcepsing.'"-^ 

This patent, to Robert Sanders and .Mcynardt 
llarmans, dated Oct. 24, 1686, was the earliest grant 
of land from the crown, or the provincial government, 
within the limits of Poughkcepsie. It is a jjuzzling 
document, of very uncertain boundaries. There is no 
mention of Poughkcepsie, but the land is called Minni- 
siiik, as in the waterfall deed of 1683 to Lansing and 
Smeedes. It conveys " a certain Tract or Parcell of 
Land Called Alinnisink Lying on the East side of 
Iludsons River to the North of the Land of Savere\n 
alias Called the Baker with the arable and Wood Land 
Marshes with the Creeke Called Wynachkee with 
Trees Stones (or Tones) and further Range or out 
Drift for Cattle and the fall of Watters Called Pond- 
anickrien and another marsh to the north of the fall of 
Watters Called Wareskeechen."* 

Reference is then made to a preceding deed, dated 
July 30th, 1685, by which the Indian title was ex- 
tinguished. This patent is quoted here because of its 
mention of "the fall of Watters Called Pondanick- 
rien."° A deed recorded in Book A of Deeds (page 
251) in the Dutchess County Clerk's Office, conveying 
part of this land in 1710 to Leonard Lewis, quotes the 
patent as being " .\ certain tract of land containing 

II had also a.sked Mr. Tooker for the meaning of Pough- 
i/uag. He replied tliat it is a very common name, and occurs 
frequently in many forms all over New England and upon 
Long Island. It means "open land" — land naturally clear. 
Tlie word may be found in Documents of Colonial History in 
several forms. 

2Robert Sanders to Balthazer Van Cleake, p. 533, Vol. 17, 
Deeds, Secretary of State's Office, also Van Kleeck Family 
History, p. 55. 

sin a considerable number of deeds the spelling is Poch- 
kecpsing, or Pocghkccpsiitg — See " Duchess" County History, 
p. 362. 

■•Wareskeechen, on Livingston's map, 1798, is the name 
given the stream at the foot of Teller Hill, flowing through the 
Webendorfer place. 

•"'For the probable meaning of these words see letter 
quoted at end of chapter. 



14 



HISTORY OF POUCH KEEPSIE 



twelve thousand acres' in one entire piece * * * 
in Dutchess County aforesaid called Minnisinck," 
etc. The quotation continues through the men 
tion of the two waterfalls, the first of which here 
becomes 'Pendanick Reen." The reference to 
the "creek called Wynogkee" is quoted from the 
patent, but when this deed describes more particularly 
the land conveyed to Lewis there is no mention of this 
name, but instead references to " the creek having 
Water Falls," and also '" the Great Creek." The land 
conve)ed was evidently along the " Creek having 
Water Falls," but there is nothing to prove that the 
" creek called Wynoghkee" in the patent was the same 
stream, nor is there anything to show definitely what 
fall is called " Pendanick Reen." To add to the puzzle 
we find that in deeds made two and three years earlier 
the " Fall Kill" is named unmistakably, first in a con- 
veyance from "Myndert Harmcen" to "Jan Oosterom 
of Pogkeepsinck." June 17, 1707, and again in a deed 
to Peter U. Zelie, June 8, 1708. I have quoted all this 
because in a map of lands about Poughkeepsie made 
by Henry Livingston in 1798, "Poudanickrien" is 
placed as the name of the fall at the mouth of the Fall 
Kill, where Livingston's Mills then were, and persons 
in ignorance of the existence of the much earlier grant 
of this fall to Jan Smeedes with the name Poogh- 
kcpcsiiigli. have supposed "Pondanickrien" or "reen" 
to have been its Indian name, thus lending color 
to the assumption that Apokeepsing was applied to 
the hypothetical " safe harbor." Mr. Tooker thinks 
that Pondanickrien is the same as a word sometimes 
spelled Ponganitchctvan, meaning " the shallow over- 
flow." In seasons of low water such a word would 
have been applicable to these falls, as well as to several 
other streams, not far away, but its use does not in 
the least destroy the force of the direct evidence for 
the much earHer use of the word Pooghkepesingh, 
wliicii had already begun to be employed as a name of 
the neighboring lands. 

It only remains to mention the latest defender of 
Apokeepsing, Mr. W. R. Gerard, a former well-known 
resident of Poughkeepsie. Writing in answer to 
Mr. Tooker's paper on " Pocjuosin," in the American 
Anthropologist (p. 586, vol. for 1899), Mr. Gerard 
says : 

" As Mr. Tooker attempts to connect the name 
Pouglikeepsie with the word ' poquosin and con- 

'Thc Van Klccck deed already quoted refers to this pat- 
ent as conveying twelve hundred acres. A dispute arose over 
this question later, as shown by some of the Christ Churcli 
glebe papers. 



fidently asserts tliat ' there appears to be absolutely 
no question as to its identity' with the latter, it 
may not be out of place to explain the meaning of 
the appellation of the city of the alleged 'safe 
harbor.' Having resided in Poughkeepsie many 
years, 1 am perfectly familiar with its topogra- 
phy and with the exact locality to which the 
name originally applied. This was a rocky cove 
t)r basin worn away at the foot of the fall near 
the river just north of the present railroad station. 
On May 5, 1683, a Highland (west side of Hud- 
son) Indian gave as a present to one Jan Smeedes 
a farm and also 'a fall on the shore to set a 
mill upon." Smeedes erected a mill upon the 
site of a pool or basin near the foot of 
tlie fall whence he obtained his water power. 
In the deed of gift the Dutch scribe wrote the 
name of the mill-site ' Pooghkepesingh' for 
■ Apoeghkipsing,' a word which in German or- 
thography would have been Apuchkipisink. The 
word means 'at the rock pool,' or 'at the rock 
basin of water,' and accurately describes the 
ideality to which tlie name was applied by the 
Indian owner." 

( )f this Mr. Tooker says (p. "iji same volume) : 
■ If there were nothing else that would show the 
worthlessness of Mr. Gerard's derivation, the taking 
of the Lenape inseparable apuchk, 'a standing rock' 
(Mass ompsk). and employing it as a possible prefix 
to an impossible name, would be enough to condemn 
it. It is well known that this generic cannot be so 
used, and the fact bears witness that Mr. Gerard's 
criticisms are not based on the strict rules of Algon- 
([uian nomenclature." 

It is perhaps unnecessary to add anxthing td this 
but I cannot refrain from pointing out that Mr. 
Gerard, knowing the locality and knowing of the 
Smeedes deed, threw over the "safe harl)or" theory, 
but clinging to jlpokecpsing as a wt>rd, looked 
around for a new construction and translation of it. 
In very much the same way Mr. Lossing, supposing 
the word Wynoghkee to refer only to the Fall Kill 
reconstructed it into Winnikee and gave its meaning 
as " Leap Stream" in his Hudson. 

In Conclusion, I think it may be said that the evi- 
dence of the Indian and other early deeds, and Mr. 
Tooker's definition of Pooghkepesingh as a name 
properly given to the waterfall at the mouth of the 
Fall Kill, settle the derivation of our city's name. 



HISTORY Oh' P f C H K /• E P S I E 



15 



NEiCHiiOKiNc. Indian Namks Explained. 

Sag Harbor. N. Y., Dec. 3, KJ03. 
Dear Mr. Piatt: — I have read your letter with much inter- 
est, and your researches show that you are on the right track. 
The deed quoted by Ruttenber which you found at Albany 
I also find in the Colonial History, Vol. XIII, pp. 545-6. 
VVynachkee is there, however, Mynachkee, an evident error. 
From the evidence so conclusively given I agree with you 
that the Pakaksiiig is the Casper Kill, and that Pickaicick- 
qiiassick is a variation of the same name. Wynachkee be- 
longed originally to land thereabouts and not to the kill. 
There is absolutely nothing in the name that would justify 
" leaping brook." It probabh' described one of the flats 
through which the "kill runs," "li'iii-askclit," "fine or pleas- 
ant green place, plain or flat." If you will turn to page 545 
(Col. Hist.) you will notice another deed where a "great 
flat" is called Machachkeck — Mach-askcht, i. e. ''the great 
green place or flat." We have on Long Island a locality 
called "Comae" originally IViniiccomac, varied as IVyncomic. 
"the pleasant or good field." Chelsea, Mass., was called 



W'iniscmet — IViii-ashim-ut, "at the pleasant springs." "Mata- 
pan fall" in the above record denotes a " sitting down 
place," a "portage," a name occurring in various parts of the 
country. "Matapony Creek," in Virginia, is the only one I 
now recall. I am inclined to believe that Minnissingh. as 
applied to the east side of the river, is a transfer from the 
Indian tribe bearing the name. They moved about con- 
siderably (see vol. XIII, p. 559, under Minnisings). They 
took the name from the "small island," perhaps the "Min- 
nissing Island" in the Delaware, where more than likely they 
had a fort for refuge (sec Ruttenber. p. 96). Sauthier's map. 
quoted by Ruttenber, locates this island about where Van 
Der Donck locates the tribe on his map. Their name gave 
title to a large tract known as the "Minnisinck Patent (Cal. 
of land Papers in the office of Sec. of State, p. 47, et seq.) 
Pondanickrien is probably the Massachusetts Pong-anilche- 
wau. "the shadow overflow," i. e. "shallow to ford or wade 



Yours 



suicerclv, 



Wm. Wallace Tooker. 




Siciw on UyiiOi;/ii-if. J/ci/i:itna<easi;i>' or Wappiiigers Kill, 
eiigraird by Lossiiig. 



CHAPTER II. 



The First Settlers and The First Land Titles — Beginnings of Development — The Post Road 
— County Organization and the F'irst Court House — The First Tax List — Some Interesting 
F)ntries in the First Book, ok Records ok Supervisors and Assessors — The F'irst Dutch Church 
— The First English Church — The Precinct or Town of Poughkeepsie — Interesting Colonial 
INVENTS — Signs ok Growth — Some Colonial Families. 



It is evident from the documents quoted in the 
preceding chapter that there were some persons be- 
sides Indians Hving in the neighborhood that was 
described as Poughkeepsie, before the first provincial 
land grants or patents were issued. There seems to 
be no conclusive evidence that Jan Smeedes built his 
mill at the Pooghkepesingh waterfall, but Peter Lan- 
sing, mentioned in the same deed, was certainly living 
within tile limits of the town of Poughkeepsie not long 
after 1683, as will presently appear. The Indians of 
the Long Reach — that straight stretch of river from 
the Highlands to Krom Elbow — were generally peace- 
able, and there is little doubt that a few white people 
were living among them even before the first efforts t) 
obtain titles to the land. Certainly a long enough time 
had ela]>sed since 1609, when that famous old Arctic 
explorer, Henry Hudson, sailed up the river that 
bears his name, to say nothing of the French trading 
expeditions of the preceding century, for somebody 
to have observed the advantages of the location. 

The first land i)atent, that to Messrs. Sanders and 
I larmans, as we have seen, locates the tract " to the 
north of the land of Sovryn alias called the Baker." 
This grant made in 1686, refers to an Indian deed of 
1683, so that it appears that Sovryn was here by that 
time somewhere, though no such man is recorded as 
having received any grant or deed. In later jears 
a dis|)ute arose as to the size and boundaries of the 
Sanders-Hamians tract, and when maps' came to be 
made a " Sovrcyn Labout the I'aker" was marked as 
living on the Casper Kill north of the brick-yard 
swamp, but it seems more likely that he lived at first 
nearer the river, and it is certain that Sanders and 
i larmans made settlements south of that point. 

The second patent to lands hereabout, that to 

'Map of Sanders-Harmans lands, apparently made by 
Henry Livingston but not dated, on file in Albany. The 
patent is recorded in Book of Patents 1680-1686, page 575, 
Secretary of State's Office. 



Colonel Peter Schuyler in 1688, does not mention liie 
baker, but describes the tract as " Bounded on the 
North by the Lands of Robert Sanders and Myndert 
Harmense," and " on the South by a Certain Creek 
that runs into Hudson's River on the North side of a 
Certain House now in the Possession & occupacon of 
one Peter the Brewer. " Tliis was at the luouth of the 
Cas])er Kill, as shown in the preceding chapter, and 
Peter the Brewer" was none other than Pieter Lan- 
sing (Lansing or Lassing) who was therefore al- 
ready on the ground, with a house built two jears 
before the land had been formally transferred to him 
by .\rnout Corneilson \'iele, according to the state- 
ment in tlie application for a patent in 1704. It is 
proliahle. in fact, that he settled on this same land 
under the Indian deed of 1683. in which he is men- 
tionetl as having been given a "bouwerie" (farm) at 
tiie time the Pooglikcpcsiiii^Ii waterfall was granted to 
Jan Smeedes. Finding himself on land already 
deeded to .\rnout \ iele, title from him was also ob- 
tained in 1690. 

Whether this Pieter' was himself the well known 
.Mbany brewer, or his son, there is some doubt, but 
unquestionably, with his " great charge of children," 
he was the ancestor of the Lansing. Lossing and Law- 
son families, members of which are still living at New 
1 lamburgh, as well as in Poughkeepsie and other parts 
of Dutchess. .\ Peter Lassing continued to live near 
the nimuli of tjie Casper Kill for many years, and is 
fre(|uently mentioned in the early road and other 
records of the county and of the precinct or town of 

'.According to Munsell's or Pierson's Genealogical records, 
Peter Lansing, tlie .Mbany brewer, was born in Amsterdam in 
iCijo. lie sold his interest in the brewery somewhere about 
16S3, and may have come to Dutchess liimself. Benson J. 
Lossing claimed him as liis ancestor, but his son lias always 
been given as the first of the family to settle here in 1699. — 
See Smith's Hist, of Dutchess Co., page 179. 

A deed on record in the County Clerk's Office refers to 
"Isaac Lawson otherwise called Isaac Lassing." 



II I S r O R y OP POUCHKEEPSIE. 



17 



Poughkeepsie. Gerrct Lansing (a name persisting to 
the present time among local members of the Lansing 
family) and Lawrence van Ale seem also to have been 
in the neighborhood by 1683, as shown by the mort- 
gage given by "a Highland Indian, Tapias," for land 
on the Wynachkee or Wappingers Kill " where Ar- 
nout Cornelisson's land ends." Arnont Cornelis- 
son \'iele himself probably did not settle on his land 
for any considerable time, if at all, for as an Indian 
interpreter, he was constantly traveling, and in 1690 
was stationed among the Onondagas ; but members of 
the Viele family were very early settlers, as shown 
by deeds already quoted. 

Nearly every early deed, in fact, mentions some- 
one on the ground still earlier, or indicates that the 
grantee was here before he obtained his title. The 
Van Kleeck family was certainly in the neighborhood 
before 1697, the date of the deed to the first lialtus or 
Balthazar, who is referred to as "of Long Rock in the 
County of Dutchess," (probably a misprint fur Luni; 
Reach) and may have been here as early as 1692.^ 

It seems probable that the first settlements in the 
county were near Rhinebeck o])])osite W'iltwyck (Kso- 
pus or Kingston) which received its charter in 1661, 
while there had been a fort at Rondout since 1614; 
but the applications for Indian deeds in that section do 
not antedate the deeds for portions of the town of 
Poughkeepsie, nnr do the Fishkill deeds, though the 
first patent to lands in the county of Dutchess (the 
Rombout patent, Oct. 17, 1685) included the Fish 
Kill and Wappingers valleys. The Dutch and the 
French Huguenots- were evidently here almost at 
the same time, and perhaps some of the first of the 
latter came from Wiltwyck or wandered through the 
woods from New Paltz, which was settled in 1677. 

It is not improbable that the influential persons 
seeking large land grants or patents first studied the 
Indian deeds on file to see where the land was likely to 
prove valuable, and then in some cases, after they had 
obtained their patents, ousted^ the poor fellows who 
were on the ground first. Indian deeds, as we have 
seen, did not give a good title unless authorized by the 
governor, and even when they were authorized, the 
same land was often granted to other persons. This 
was the case with the land near the mouth of the Wap- 
pingers. Disputes over titles there, due partly to this 
and partly to the fact that sales in that neighborhood, 

iSee Van Kleeck Family History, p. 24. 

2"Sovryn the Baker" was doubtless a Frenchman and 
Snieedes is a New Paltz name. 

3See Smith's History of Dutchess County for an account 
of the settlement of Nicholas Eighmie at Fishkill under an In- 
dian deed to land extending from Fishkill to Poughkeepsie. 



imder the division of the Rombout patent, were sus- 
pended during the life of the minor V'erplanck heirs, 
doubtless retarded settlement. 

In the upbuilding of a city at Poughkeepsie, slowly 
as it was accomplished, most precedents were violated. 
The neighborhood at the- mouth of the Wappingers, 
the largest stream in the county, was the natural jjlace 
for such development. The stream furnished a high- 
way to the interior, and was to some extent navigated 
by the Indians in their canoes, as the Indian name of 
the second fall, "Matapan" (a portage), indicates. It 
is probal)le, however, that the falls prevented much nav- 
igation, and the course of the stream, bringing it not 
more than four miles from the mouth of the 
l'"all Kill, doubtless led to the divergence of foot travel 
from the Wappingers v> the I''all Kill valleys, as a 
shorter route in tiie river. Indian ti'aiis were very 
nften the precursors of roads and even of railroads. 
The Wappingers valley was certainly well enough 
known long before the first mention of Poughkeepsie, 
for William Hawthorne, Capt. John Pyncheon and 
other Englishmen from Hartford cau.sed old Governor 
Stuyvesant a good deal of uneasiness by proposing to 
" settle a town fifteen miles from the North river east 
of the Wappings Kill" in 1659.' Permission was 
refused, and when settlers began to come, about twenty 
years after the end of Dutch control, they pre- 
ferred the Poughkeepsie neighborhood. There was at 
one time an Indian village here, and a considerable 
nmnber of arrow heads and other relics have been 
ftnind in the neighborhood of Ship- Yard or Fo.x's 
Point,- but this village was not important enough to 
be mentioned on any of the Dutch ma])s or records 
and trade with the Indians was apparently not one of 
the inducements to white settlers. The only obvious 
advantages of the neighborhood were the mill site at 
the river, a better site for such mills as were erected 
at that time than the Wappingers falls afl^orded, and the 
existence of considerable coni]>aratively level land up- 
on the hill, rather nearer the ri\er than at oilior 
points. Probably sonie of this land was natural 
meadow land. 

Since "the Dutchesses County"-' bounds were 
defined before the first land grants " to be from the 
bounds of the County of Westchester on the South 
Side of the Highlands along the Eastside of Hudsons 
River as farr as Roelof Jansens Creeke and Eastward 
into the wood twenty miles." it is not impossible to con- 

iCalendar of Dutch Colonial Manuscripts, p. 321 ; also 
Dutchess County History, p. 56. 

2By Messrs. Henry Booth and Clarence Lown. 
sDongan's Laws, Nov. i, 1683, Docs. Col. Hist. XHI, 575 



IS 



HISTORY OF P U G H KEEP S J E. 



ceive that the Sanders, Heermance, Schuyler, Ten 
Eyck' and other early patentees were shrewd enough 
to foresee the probable location of the county seat at 
such a central point. That Sanders and Heermance 
started to settle their tract as a village community 
seems a fair inference from the fact that the earliest 
deeds nearly all contain stipulations for rights in "com- 
mon lands." The \'an Kleeck deed of 1697 grants 
the land " with privilege of Commons belonging to 
said patent (that is to say) the dividend thereof pro- 
portionate to the Quantity of land hereby granted." 
Pasturage and wood cutting were the usual privileges 
of Commons, and Mr. Irving Elting in his "Dutch 
\illage Comnumities of the Hudson River" shows 
that the Dutch brought this custom by inheritance 
from remote Germanic ancestors. 

Colonial deeds are of course all datcil from the 
year of the reign of the King or Queen of the time, 
and Dutchess deeds begin with William of Orange. 
The land was at first held "acording to the Tenure of 
Hast Greenwich in the County of Kent within his 
Majesties Realm of England" upon a quit rent of so 
many bushels of wheat, and quit rents were collected 
from time to time, though often much in arrears, until 
a statute was passed for their commutation in cash 
and final abolition. 

Beginnings of Develop.ment — The Ai.r.Axv Road. 

The first development of the tract of land called 
"Mennisink and Pogkeepsing" began when the part- 
ners in the first patent, " Robert Sanders and Mjenardt 
1 lermans by their joijnt consent did make Division and 
particon of part of the said Land adjoijning to Hud- 
son's River aforesaid called Pogkeepsing," as we learn 
from the V'an Kleeck deed, which, however, does not 
give the year of the contract of partition. Baltus Van 
Kleeck, called Balthazar \'an Cleake in the deed, but 
whose name before coming here is given as Baltus 
Barents, was a brother-in-law of Robert Sanders, 
which accounts for his early arrival. Sanders is 
always described in the deeds as " of the City of New 
York," and Hermans, who.se name is spelled in 
three different ways in this one deed, was the 
resident partner. We find that by the time 
of this deed, June 3, 1697, the property was 
already in part divided into "Lotts, sixty-eight 
Rood" "in breadth ffront and rear" and that the 
Van Kleeck purchase was bounded on the south 
by "four parcells or Lotts the which is now or 

'The Ten Eyck or Potighkcepsic patent is referred to in a 
deed (Lib. A, p. 25) conveying property to John Rodman and 
William lliiddleston, 1698. It included the same property 
granted in earlier patents, and was declared fraudulent. 



lately hath been in the Tenure possession and occu- 
pation of Mynardt Harmens, Balthazar P.arnse, Hen- 
clrick Ostrom and Symon Scoute," evidcntl}- the begin- 
nings of a little comnnmity containing the genns of a 
village. There was doubtless a saw mill at the Poogh- 
kcpesingh waterfall before this time because we find it 
referred to in a deed from Col. Peter Schuyler, the 
second patentee to lands hereabouts, to Sanders and 
Harmense in 1699, as follows: 

"All that Certain Tract or Parcell of Land Scituate 
Lying ami being on ye East side of the Hudson's 
River in Dutchess County at a Certain Place caled ye 
Long Reach Slenting over Against Jufl'rows Hook At 
a Place Called the Rust Plaest, Runs from Thence 
East Ward into the Wood to a Creek Caled by the 
Indians Pictawick<iuasick Known by the Christians 
fur Jan Casperses Creek Northwarde to a \\'ater fall 
where the Saw Mill belonging to Myndert Harmense 
.\forsaid Stands I'pon and so South warde Alongst 
Hudson's River .\foresaid to said Rust Plaest." — 
p. 278, Liber .A. County Clerk's (Office. 

It does not seem to me that this deed was as impor- 
tant as the authors of the Dutchess County histories 
have supposed. Sanders and Heermance had al- 
ready settled part of the tract, as shown above from 
the Van Kleeck deed, and it does not appear from the 
patents that Schuyler's title to it was any better than 
theirs, but the transfer made the titles of the grantees 
good and furnished a definite boundary, the "Rust 
Plaest" being the stream which flows through the pres- 
ent Rural Cemetery grounds. Juffrows Hook was the 
southeast corner of the New Paltz i^atent, (granted 
1678) and was generally taken to be what we now call 
r.luo Point.' 

The first ini])etus towards concentration and m\- 
])rovcment, once the titles were secure, was furnished 
when the Colonial .Assembly in 1703 authorized the 
construction of what afterwards became the Post 
Road.- from "King Bridge aforesaid to the Ferry at 
Crawlew over against Albany." 

There must have been some sort of a trail along the 
east side of the river before this time, and we may be 
sure that the commissioners for Dutchess, "Mr. Baltus 
\'an Clifi't. Mr. Johannes Tarbus and Mr. Robert 
Livingston" did something towards its improvement. 
The act required that the road he finished "as well for 
the Carriage of goods as the passage of Travellers 
within the space of eighteen months." Had a good 
road suitable for travelers in coaches been constnicted 
at once this would have been relatively as important 
as the building of the railroad some one hundred and 

'On this, however, sec letter of Frank Hasbrouck in New 
Paltz Independent, Nov. 19, 1893. 
-Colonial Laws, Vol. I. p. 5.1,1. 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 



19 



fifty years later, but one ])aragrapli of the act pro- 
vided that the people of Dutchess "arc not hereby 
Obliged to Clear or maintain any other i)ath nr High- 
way than for Horse and man only." 1!_\ I/12, how- 
ever, there is a reference U< it as "The waggon path 
leading to I'ocepsink."' and in the course of a few 
years more it became known as the King's Road. 
Traveling was nevertheless muslly on horseback even 
between I'oughkeepsie and Fishkill for a long time 
after this, but the laying out of the road cletermined 
the building of I'oui^likcepsic on the iiill ratlu-r than 
on the river front. 

It is impossible to tell from such of the old surveys 
as remain just what the original rt)ute of the road was, 
but I have found no evidence that it followed the 
line of Jefferson Street through to Bridge as some 
people have thought. No early map shows a road 
across that section of Poughkeepsie. The post road 
has been many times relocated for short distances. 
It once ran through a part of what is now Eastman 
Park, according to tradition, following the line of the 
street to the west of the Soldiers' Fountain, and was 
west^ of the Freartown settlement until after 1799. 
but in general it was kept well up on the hill, out of the 
swampy places, and in the central part of Poughkeep- 
sie the evidence is that it followed about the line of 
the present Market street from very early times, then 
curved around partly on the lines of Washington, Mill 
and P.ridge Streets to an easy fording place over the 
Fall Kill. 




/ \iii Kli-cck House, from Li'ssiiig's Wood Cut published in 
the Faiiiily Magazine in 1838. 

The \'an Kleeck house, a substantial stone 
building, had been already built (1702) on the road 
leading to the mill, when the post road act was passed, 

iDeed from Elsie Sanders to Johnes Pruin. — Lib. A, 
p. 19. 

2Tlie i-qS map (frontispiece) ; also Lib. 14, Deeds, p. 193. 



and there is every reason to believe that the two roads 
were the same in front of this house, which stood "on 
the premises now known as Nos. 224 and 226 Mill 
St." The \'an Kleeck house was not, of course, the 
tirst house in Poughkeepsie, for \an Kleeck bought a 
bouse and barn with his land in 1697, as his deed 
shows, but it was probaijly the first stone house, and 
long served as an important gathering place, where 
meetings were held and travelers were entertained. 
It was loop-holed for nniskets and was strong enough 
to serve as a fortress against Indian attacks in case 
of necessit}'. 

CoL.NTV (Jl<r,.\.NlZ.\TIO.\ .\.NIJ FlUST CoUKT IIoUSE. 

\\ hetlier Sovryn the baker was living on the- Casper 
Kill east of Poughkeepsie as early as i(j80 or not, 
there were certainly some settlements in that neigh- 
borhood by 1700 and soon afterwards also in the 
W'appingers valley over the ridge. A trail or road 
led from them to the mill at the river, follow-ing 
somewhat the lines of the ])resent Alain Street and the 
junction of this trail with the King's Road became the 
natural place for the location of the first blacksmith 
shop.' Incidental references in early documents seem 
to show that a little hamlet had already begun to 
spring up at the crossroads when the county organiza- 
tion was first determined upon, but it must have been 
a very insignificant hamlet, for according to the census 
taken in 17 14 there were but 445 persons in the whole 
county, of whom 29 were slaves. 

The county had been attached to Ulster 
until the year before when (Oct. 23. 171 3) a 
provincial act had requested the Justices of 
the Peace to issue warrents for the election 
of one supervisor, a treasurer, two assessors and 
two collectors, but there is no evidence that any elec- 
tion was held for several years. On July 21, 1715, an 
act was passed requiring the Justices of the Peace to 
call together the freeholders of the county to elect two 
of their number "to be Supervisors and Directors 
for the building and erecting a County-House and 
Prison within the said County, at such a convenient 
place as to them shall be meet and convenient, for 
the most ease and benefit of the Inhabitants of the 
said County." The act directed that the building 
must be erected "within two years next after the pub- 
lication hereof," and that a ta.x be levied on the 
county not to exceed "the Sum of Two hundred and 
fifty Ounces of good Mexico, Pillar or Sevill Plate" 

iThe first mention of a blacksmith occurs in a deed dated 
1713, Peter U. Zelie (or Velie) to William Titsoor. — Lib. A, 
p. 33. See also Smith's "History of Dutchess County," p. 179, 
"Until 1712 the nearest blacksmith to the Fishkill settlers 
was at Esopus, then called Wiltwyck." 



20 



HISTORY OP P U G H K E E P S I n. 



to pay for it. Tliere is no record to show that any- 
thing was done under tlie act and surely the necessity 
of a county house and prison was not ver)' pressing, 
but the project was not given up. 

Some sort of a county organization was formed by 
this time, for Richard Sackett became the first county 
clerk in 1815, and Leonard Lewis represented the 
county in the Fifteenth Assembly (1713-1714). In 
the Sixteenth Assembly (1715) Baltus \'an Kleeck and 
Leonard Lewis were both members and continued in 
the next assembly until \'an Kleeck's death in 1717. 
Koth lived in the neighborhood called Poughkeepsie 
and Lewis had been appointed the first Judge of the 
Court of Common I 'leas in 1716. Their influence 
was doubtless of weight in the passing of the second 
act for the construction of a county or court house, 
May 27th, 17 1 7, and in providing for its location "at 
or near the most Convenient place at Poghkepse" 
This act allowed three years for the completion of 
the work, and despite the assertions of tlie two his- 
tories of "Duchess" County that the first court house 
was not built until 1745 or 1746, the proof is convinc- 
ing that it was finished within the time limit fixed 
in the act of 1717. The first book' of the supervisors 
and assessors shows that a meeting of the "frie bould- 
ers" was held at the house of Leonard Lewis June 22, 
1717, and that Uarendt Van Kleeck and Jacobus Van 
den Bogert were chosen as a building committee. A 
few pages further on we find the tax levies prefaced 
by the statement, "It is amongst other things enacted 
that the County hose and preson shall be built wid- 
in three years." The entries do not clearly show how 
much money was spent, but it is certain that the 
building, surely not a very elaborate structure, was 
ready for use soon after the passage of the act of 
July 6, 1720,- which provided that "from henceforth 
there shall be held and kept at Poghkepson near the 
Centre of said Cnunt}-, a (k-ncral Sessions of the 
Peace, on the lliird Tuesday in Mav and the 
third Tuesday in ( )ctober." In the records of 
a meeting of supervisors and assessors held 
in 1722 at "Pockkepsinck" pursuant to a colonial act 
for the improvement of the roads, these words are 
used describing the post road: "Also Persuing from 
the County house by Jacobus Van Den Bogert 

'This took was probably unknown to the authors of the 
Iwo histories, as well as to Benson J. Lossing, though there 
arc quotations from it in a historical sketch in the Weekly 
Eagle of July 8, 1876. It covers the period from 1717 to 
Dec. 17, 1722, and contains also receipts for taxes paid in 
New York in 1715. 

^Documentary History of New York, Vol. Ill, 972, I do 
not find this act in the Colonial Laws as published by the 
state in 1894. The county records however show that the 
first court of General Sessions was held here in 1721. In 
1722, Harmen Rynders was appointed "Stebo or bell ringer." 



* * * to the Bridge of Jan Rasper's Creek as 
the Rod is now used and so to Peter Lassings." 
The second record book of the supervisors and asses- 
sors, beginning 1722. contains direct statements that 
meetings were held in the court house, and to com- 
plete the proof that the building was there one has 
only to turn to the Colonial laws (\'oI. Ill, p. 336, 1894 
edition) and read the act authorizing the construc- 
tion of the second court house, passed Dec. 17. 1743: 
"An Act to Enable the Justices of the Peace in Dutch- 
ess County to build a Court House & Goal or to en- 
large and Repair the old one." It has been stated that 
the ])roperty on which the court house was built was 
conveyed by Jacobus \^an Den Bogart to Barendt Van 
Kleeck, Justice of the Peace, in 1718, but there is 
no deed on record to this effect. The earliest deed to 
the property seems to be that of Xov. 13th. 1747, a 
"lease and release" of the land "with the court house 
and goals already built on the same" to Isaac Van 
Den Bogert, Jacobus Ter I'.ds. Anthony Yelverton, 
Lewis Du Bois and John Tenhruck "four of his 
Majesties Justices of the Peace." The ])archment 
release is preserved in the County Clerk's Office among 
the maps. It provides that the property shall revert 
to the \^an Den Bogart family if used for any other 
purpose than that for whicli it was granted. 

It is interesting to find in Liln-r I of Deeds, page 
29, confirmation of the tradition th;it the \'an Den 
Bogart and Heermancc families arc the same. In 
July, 1709, "Myndert Harmse of ])oghkeepsink in 
Dutchess County Yoeman and luleiia his wife for 
divers good Causes & Consideratinns them thereunto 
moving but more especially for and in Consideration 
of ye Love and affection which they bare unto their 
Eldest Suim Jacobus \'an den bogart" conveyed a 
considerable amount of land to the latter, and the 
court house stands on a part of it. This Jacobus is 
said to have planted the first apple orchard in the 
neighborhood, the word "bogart" (modern Dutch 
"boomgaard") meaning orcliard. 

Liber A or i of deeds in the Dutchess County 
Clerk's Office was begun in 171 8, but many earlier 
deeds, as we have seen, were recorded in it. Most 
of the deeds dating back of 1700 were recorded in 
Ulster County, in Albany County, or in the records 
of the Colonial (lovernment at New York. The last 
named are now in the Secretary of State's Office in 
Albany, while those originally recorded at Albany 
are among the Fort ( )range Records in the .Albany 
County Clerk's Office. .Mthoiigh the Dutch language 
was spoken by the great majority of the people of 
Dutchess County until almost the time of the Revolu- 
tion, none of the records are in Dutch, except the first 
will in Liber A of Wills. 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSin. 



21 



Thi- First Tax List. 

the i.xhabetents, residents, sojorners and frie- 

iioi.ders of dutchis county are rated & as- 

sesed by assessores chosen for ye 

same the day of 171% 

for ve meedel ward, 

viz: 



Thomas Sanders, 
Elias \ an I'unschoote, 
Zacliarias Fk'p^elar, 
HendricU \'an Der Ikirgli, 
Jacob Titsort, 
Josias Crejjo, 
Evert \'an Wagenc, 
Joliannes Van Kleck 
Myndert \'an Denbogert, 
Harmon Rynderse, 
Jan Ostrom, 
Barenet \'an Kleck, 
Fransoy Le Roy. 
Lowarance \'an Kleck, 
Jacobus \'an Den Bogart, 



£ £ 

35 02 ij 3>, 

10 00 ij I 

04 00 04 10 

53 03 04 >2 

04 GO 04 10 
06 GO 07 3 

10 ai IJ I 

11 00 13 y/2 

20 Gl 04 y/2 

01 00 01 2}4 

13 00 01 23/2 

35 02 02 3>4 

24 01 09 o 

05 00 06 oyi 
05 00 06 73/2 



De Weden \'an Baltus \'an Kleck, 58 03 lo i 

De Weden \'an Myndert harmese 52 03 02 10 

Jan De Graef. 11 00 13 3 

Bartholomeus Hoogeboom 05 00 00 o 

Leonard Lewis, 55 03 06 5 

De Weden \'an Jan keep, 05 go 06 o 

Pieter X'ielcc. 22 oi 06 7 

Hendrick Pels, 13 00 15 8 

William Titsor. 13 00 15 Syi 

Magiel Palmctier Jnii, 03 go 03 7J/2 

Magicl Palnietier Siniurc 45 02 14 4J/2 

Pieter Palmctier, 14 00 16 11 

Hendrick Buys, 03 00 01 73^ 

John Egerton. 01 00 01 23^ 

Thomas Lewis. OI 00 01 23/ 

Thomas Chadwick. 02 00 02 5 

Jonas Scoot. 02 00 02 5 

Richard Sackett, 10 00 12 1 

The first column of figures is of coiu'sc the assess- 
ment and the next three the tax in pounds, shillings 
and pence, colonial money. A curious outcropping of 
Dutch will be noticed in "De Weden \'an." for "the 
widow of." A few years later Zacharias Flegelar's 
name drops out and "De \\'eden \^an Zaacharias 
Flegelar" appears on the roll. Notice also the method 
of dating "the day of 171 ^s" which means Jan. i. 1718. 
Dates between January and March were often written 
both "old and new style" like this %. This first as- 
.sessment roll, when the other two wards are included, 
contains 120 Dutch. 2 French and 8 English names, 
and the last assessment in the book, 1722. contains 171 
Dutch names. 2 French and 14 English. The scarcity 
of French names seems to show that the Du Bois, 
Freer and other TTuirucnot families from New Paltz 



had not yet arrived. The increase of the English is 
also noteworthy. 

Some Interesting Records. 

The little supervisors' book from which this assess- 
ment is taken contains a number of entries that throw 
light upon the life of the people. There are records 
of several payments to the Indians, but without clear 
indication of their purpose. Probably some of them 
were bounty payments for killing wolves, as .several 
Colonial acts were passed to authorize such bounties in 
Dutchess County. Here is an entry which .shows that 
bad s])elling was not the onI\ vice of our ancestors: 

Dutches County 
frebniary the n^ 

.\nnoq I7ij,s .\t a Specal Sesiones 

heald at Pockepsink 

Present 
Leonard Lewis Judge 
Capt Barendt Van Klecck 
Machill Palmater. Esqurs Justices 

Have Tacken Information of Barthoolomeus Hoog- 
enhoom and Franseys \'an Den Bogard Raclial Buck- 
Icy That John De Grafe has Retald Stong Licquors 
by Smal Measure as apereth by tharc Several 
.\fedafides. 

Dutches County 
febrary 28 .\nni)<| 

171 7,s l^pon Re(|uest of .Mr. John De Grafe 
The Gusteses of Sd County Meet 

Present 
Leonard Lewis Esq. Judge 
Caj)t Barendt ^'an Klecck 
Machil Parmentier Justices 

The Said John De Grave Being Sincebell of his 
Erore bcged the Justiss to be Exqused of his fine and 
promisith for the time to come not to fall in the lick 
Erorss Wareupon the Justices have taken it into con- 
sideration to be of mean Capasity and a Great famely 
to meantain they have ackquittcd the said John De 
Grave of five Pound which de said John De Grafe 
is ffalen under. 

.\ study of the assessment rolls makes it a little 
doubtful whether John was of "mean Capasity." In 
the first assessment he is down at £11. while only four 
years later. 1722, his wealth had risen to £30. show- 
ing that there must have been .some profit in the sale 
of "Strong Licquors by Smal Measure." Once again 
in July, 1 7 19, he got into trouble, but the record does 
not show clearly whether he escaped his fine or not. 

Another interesting entry is the following under 
date of January 20th, 1721 : 

To Mr. Jacob Plough for Sarviss Done for the 
County for Tow Viges from Kips berge to pockepsink 
upon the Business of a Negro of Johanns Dickman 
that was Burnt and forgot to bring it to the County 
Charge afore and is allowed 12s. 



22 



HISTORY OP POUGHKEEPSIE. 



This is obscure eiioutjli. but it may refer to the 
burning of a negro at the stake. Two such horrible 
incidents have been related in historical sketches of 
Poughkeepsie. usually with a later but not very definite 
date. Isaac Piatt in a historical sketch published in 
the Weekly Eagle in May, 1858. spoke of the burning 
of a white man and negro "on the eve of the Revolu- 
tion," and stated that it took place on the ground next 
south of John Thompson's place on Market Street. 
Punishments were often harsh and brutal in Colonial 
days, and there are several references in the early 
books of the supervisors to a whipping post, and to 
chains and stocks for securing prisoners. The records 
also show that prisoners were in need of better 
security than the jail afforded, for its locks and bars 
were a source of much expense and wrre not infre- 
quently broken. 

Tiiic First Ciuucii. 

'I'he first deed' in l,il)er A of Deeds is thai which 
conveys the lot on which the first cjinrch was l)uilt. 
from Jacobus \'an Den Bogert to "Ci])!. I'.arendt \ an 
Klceck, Mr. Myndert \'an Den Bogert. Mr. I'iiter 
fielce and Mr. Johannes van Kleeck All ^^lnu■n." It 
is dated December 26th, 1716, and was recorded \\\- 
gust 20th, 1718. by Henry Van Derburgh. the second 
County Clerk. The congregation had been organized 
Oct. loth, 1716. when Rev. Petrus \ as, pastor of the 
church at Kingston, installed .Michael Parmenter ami 
Pieter du Bois as elders, and i'",lias \'an Benschoten 
and Pieter Parmenter as deacons, and also baj^tised 
Marytjen, daughter of Frans De Lange and Marytjen 
\'an Schaak. Rev. A. P. \'an Gieson has translated 
many of the early Dutch records for his history of 
the church and he tells us that the first Church 
Master's book contains copies of subscription lists 
that were circulated in 1717 to rai.se money for the 
building of the church. 1.427 guilders- were sub- 
scribed in money and 6i days work estimated at six 
guilders per day. Evidently community life was 
taking form at this time and the fulmv of tin- little 
hamlet at Poughkeeiisie was assured, with the onurt 
house on one side of the King's Road and the church 
on the other. The church was finished in 1723 and is 
said to have been of stone. Its location is clearix 
shown by the description of the property in the deed : 
"Scituated Lying and being in pochkeiJseng in the 

'Printed in full in the "History of the First Reformed 
Church of Poughkeepsie," by Rev. A. P. Van Gieson, D. D. 
(p. 122). 

i^Thc guiUler was commonly reckoned at one shilling 
(l2 1-2 cts. ) New York currency. The term disappears 
from the Pouglikeepsie Church records in 1740. — Dr. Van 
Gieson's History, p. 85. 



afore said County, butted and Pioundett Vz on the 
Xort Sid to the Rood that Runs to the Eastward to 
the fore said Cap't Barendt Van Kleecks and on the 
west along the Rood that Runs to the Sout." This 
was of course on the southeast corner of Market and 
.Main street, and the church still owns the property, as 
will appear in subsequent chapters. 

That the early Dutch settlers who built the church 
and the court house were not devoid of enterprise is 
apparent. They were so few in nuinbers that the 
church was united with that organized about the 
same time at Fishkill. and it was not until 1731 that 
the first minister, Rev. Cornelius \'an Schie arrived 
from Holland to take charge of the two backwoods 
congregations. If Dominie Van Schie received what 
the twn churches agreed to pay him in the call (which 
Dr. \ an Gieson prints in full) he got the princely 
salary of £70 ($175) Xew York money, the time of 
his salary "to begin with the lifting of the anchor of 
tlie shi]) on which he shall sail from .Amsterdam." He 
was also I'urnished with firewood for summer and 
winter "to l)e ])iled by his house" and was presented 
with a l)rowii horse which cost "four pounds & Teen 
shillings." A house, "three morgens of pasture, also 
a garden in suitable fence," and several minor in- 
ducements \vere included in the call, but as he re- 
mained less than two years he may not have received 
all these good things. The parsonage, pasture, etc. 
were to be located either at Poughkeepsie or Fishkill, 
and Dominie \'an Schie w^as to be perfectly free to 
decide which place he preferred for his residence. He 
preferred Poughkeepsie, and here the two congrega- 
tions jointly purchased the land on a part of which 
the present church stands and built the first parsonage, 
])robably in 1732. In a call sent to Holland in 1734, 
it is described as "A new and suitable residence, forty- 
five feet long and tw'enty-seven broad, having three 
rooms, and a studx upstairs, a large cellar under the 
house, and a well with good w'ater. a garden, and 
an orchard planted with 100 trees." 

Dominie \'an Schie went to .Mhanx' in 1733 and it 
was twelve years before another minister could be iu- 
diued to come out from Holland. The salary had 
tluii lurii raise<l to i'lio. The c;ills of course had to 
!)e sciit thrmigh others by power of attorney, as it 
was im])ossible for the consistory of the little churclies 
in Dutchess to know what young ministers were avail- 
able on the other side of the ocean. When the second 
minister. Rev. P>. Meynema. arrived and had looked 
over the ground he asked, among other things, "that 
he might be reimbursed for any expense in riding 
to the church, or from the church to his home, on 
account of storms, high water, and necessity of being 
heli)ed through the creek," and the request was grant- 



tr I s r k y or p o u g h k n n p s i n. 



23 



ed. This of course, referred to the long ride to and 
from Fishkill. 

What happened to destroy the tirst church is not 
known. Rev. Samuel Seabur_\-,' the English Church 
missionary, writing about 1756, says, "The Dutch 
Church at Poughkeepsie was not enclosed or under- 
l)inned hut standing on blocks, nor floored or preached 
in though raised for several years." If the date of 
this letter is correct it seems as if it must refer 
to a second church building, thongli aceinding to the 
einncli veeords the second l)uiIdinL; was imt determin- 
ed upon by the Consistor\- until l''eb. 15th, 1760. at 
which time tile minutes state that the walls of the old 
eiuucii iiad fallen. Ilnudewyu Lacounte. Klias \ an 
ISenschoten, Leonard \'an Kleeck and James Liv- 
ingston were the building committee, and this church 
was erectetl on the North side of ICast Lane, as Main 
Street is called in the deed from Gale 'S'elvertou con- 
\i'\ing the iirojierty. ( tctober J^th. xjC^u. It stood 
until iSjj. on the lot just to the east of the 
present Xelson House .\nnex opposite the end of Mar- 
ket Street, and there are still a few interesting grave 
stones- remaining in the rt-ar of the buildings there. 
.\fter this church was iniilt the old church lot. on the 
Corner across the road, continued to be used as a 
burial groimd until well into the nineteenth century. 

I'efore the second building was determined upon 
the dissension between the Coetus and Conferentie 
])arties had lieguti and the harmony of the Dutch 
church was not restored until the ReNnlution. The 
Coetus party held that minsters could lie ordained 
in America, while the Conferentie |)arty maintained 
ih.it the only authority was in Holland. When the 
fourth pastor of the Poughkeepsie and Fishkill 
churches. Dominie Henricus Schoonmaker arrived in 
Poughkee])sie in 1764 for ordination he found the 
church in the possession of the opposing (Conferentie 
or Holland) party and the service took ]>lace under a 
tree not far from where the pri'si-nt church is located, 
the officiating ntinister. Re\'. John II. Coetschius. 
standing in a wagon, h'lder I'eter \ an i\leeek and 
Deacon John Conklin of the Conferentie party or- 
ganized a bolting consistory and called Re\-. Isaac 
Rysdyck from Holland. He accepted, and from I7'')5 
to 1772 the Poughkeepsie and Fishkill churches had 
two pastors. Dr. Rysdyck left the Poughkeepsie 
church to take charge of the Fishkill, Hopewell and 
Xew Hackensack churches in 1773. which marks the 
separation of the Poughkeei)sie church from Fishkill. 
It is interesting to note that Mr. Schoonmaker, wdio 
was in his time said to be the most eloquent preacher 

iRev. H. O. Ladd's "Founding of the Episcopal Clmrch in 
Dutchess County," p. 22, note. 
-See appendix for names. 



in the Dutch language, left Poughkeepsie in 1774, 
largely because he could not iireach well in English. 
The Dutch language was steadily losing ground and 
disappears entirely from the church records in 1783, 
though occasionally used in preaching until 1794. 
The first record of preaching in English was in 1740 
and in Dominie Schoonniaker's time it had become 
customary to hold services alternately in Dutch and in 
luiglish. The church was evidently then much in the 
position of the Lutheran church of to-day. 

Till-: FiKST E.vGi.isM Church. 

The increase of the F.nglish population and of 
the l-'nglish language, as well as the dis.sentions in the 
Dtitch church made a jilace for the Church f)f England 
(b'piscopal) and for the Presbyterians. The latter,* 
it appears, were first in the field with an organization 
as early as 1749. but failed to maintain themselves on 
a permanent basis or to erect a btiilding until .some 
time after the beginning of the 19th century. They 
held frequent services, however, first in connection 
with Fishkill and afterwarrls in connection with 
"Charlotte I'lvcinct," which included Washington 
Hollow and Pleasant \alley, until 1772, and then the 
records show only an occasiou;d sermon for a K)ng 
period. .At Pleasant \'alley. on the other hand, the 
denomination increased in strength, and the first 
church was built there about 1770, when Rev. Wheeler 
Case left the Poughkeei)sie congregation to become 
its pastor. The Pleasant \'alley congregation was 
built up by immigration from the north of Ireland 
and soon became stronger even than the "Pittsbury 
Church," organized at what was afterwards called 
Washington Hollow, in 1746. 

The Church of England started in Poughkeepsie 
with a vigorous organization in 1766. as a result 
of meetings held during a number of visits from 1755 
by Rev. Samuel Seabury of Hempstead. Long Island, 
wdio was in the service of the "Society for the Pro- 
pagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts." It con- 
tinued to flourish until the Revolution was well start- 
ed, when prejudice against it became so strong on 
account of the loyalty of many of the members to 
the King, that .services had to be susi>ended. Christ 
Church- in connection with Rombout (Fishkill). P>eek- 
mans and Charlotte, in the year of its organization 
called Rev. John P>cardslev of Groton, Ct., to be its 



iThe History of the Presbyterian Church in Dutchess 
County has never been f\illy written, but see Daily Eagle, 
June 8th. 1895. 

2Daily Eagle. May 25. 1805. The records of this church 
arc in good preservation and a complete history is in course 
of preparation by Miss Helen Wilkinson Reynolds of Pough- 
keepsie. 



24 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE 



first rector, and the next year purchased a farm or 
"glebe" of 87 acres from Gideon Ostrander on the 
Filkintovvn Road (Main St.) The "glebe house," or 
rectory, built of brick in 1767, is still standing nearly 
in its original form on the north side of Main Street 
opposite the end of Church Street. At the meeting 
which extended the call to Mr. Beardsley, Barthole- 
mew Cranncll. Peter Harris, Johannes Ferdon, Johan- 
nes Midlaer and Charles Moss were present from 
Poughkeepsie. .\ ro\al charter was granted to 
Christ Church. March 9th. 1773. by King George III. 
under the corporate title of "The Rector and Inhabi- 
tants of Poughkeepsie in Dutchess County in Com- 
munion of tlie Church of England, as li}- law cs- 
talilished," and by it a grant of two hundred acres 
of land previously regarded as "common land" was 
added to the glebe. This land in after years caused 
the church many law suits, as squatters settled on it 
and claimed title by right of occupation. 




iiiijilish Chiircli Glebe House — 'iukcii 1904. 

Kev. 11. ( ). Ladd in his "I'ounding of the ICpi.sco- 
pal Chunli in Dutchess County" makes Trinity 
Church, Fishkill. antedate Christ Church by virtue of 
a subscri])tion jiaper circulated for the building of a 
church in 175''), but no organization was formed at 
Fishkill until ten years later in connection with Pough- 
kee])sie, and it does not ap])ear that the church was 
built until \'/(^). The first Christ Church building was 
erected in 1774 on land given by Lewis DuP>ois, facing 
the Post Road, where the State .\rmory now is. 
There was some opposition to the establishment of the 
Church of England from the .staunch old dissenters 
who had come into tlie county bringing with them the 
memory of the Stuarts of luigland, but tlie Dutch in- 
habitants do not seem to have been greatly disturbed. 
In fact Dutch names began to ajjpear on the records 
very soon after it was fairly settled. 

'Origin.il parchment in Savings Bank, in tlie care of 
Major J. K. Sagiie, one of the wardens. 



O.vTiis Signed by Office Holders. 

Something of the religious prejudices of Colonial 
days, as well as the English fear of a return of the 
Stuarts to the throne and of Roman Catholic influence, 
are shown in the oaths of abjuration and fealty re- 
quired to be taken by ofifice holders in Dutchess 
County. These oaths were long, and abounded in 
every sort of legal repetition and prolixity. The 
shortest of them, as used in 1729, was as follows: 

1, .\. B., do swear that I do from my heart abhor Detest 
and abjure as Impious and Heretical, that Damnable Doctrine 
and position that Princes Excommunicated or deprived by 
the Pope, or any .\utliority of the see of Rome may be 
deposed or Murdered by their subjects or any other what- 
soever, and I do declare that no Person Prelate State or 
Potentate has or ought to have any Jurisdiction Power Superi- 
ority Preeminence of authority ; Ecclesiastical or Spiritual 
uilliin this Realm 

So help me God 

Tlu' oath of fealty declared "that our Soveraigiie 
Lord George the Second is Lawful and Rightful King 
of this Realm * * * ^y^^ j ^1^^^ Solemnly and 
Sincerely declare * * * that the per.son pre- 
tended to be Prince of Wales during the Life of the 
Late King James and since his Decease pretending to 
he * King of England by the name of 

James tin- third hath not any Rights or Title whatso- 
ever." etc. 

A tliinl (lath declared that "in the Sacrament of the 
i.iirds Siii>i>er: there is not any Transuhstantiation," 
etc.. and that various practices of the Church of Rome 
are "Superstitious and Idolatrous." 

A copy of one nf these oaths found in the attic 
of the old Court llcmse contains the following sig- 
tiatures for the dates given: 

1729. 

lleiUhuseu. Jan — cai)tain. 

Du I)ois. Piter — justice. 

Du Lang, Frans — captain. 

Hermans, I lendricks — captain. 

Hussey, James — cajitain. 

Ki|i, Jacob. Jr. — captain. 

Ki]), R'd — justice. 

Ktiickerhacker. Lowerens — eajitain. 

La Roy. I'rans — captain. 

Mimtross. John — captain. 

( )i)sterhntit, Lowerens — captain. 

Sanders. Thomas — 

Sclieefer, Henrie — 

Scott, William — coroner. 

.Swart wont. Jacobus — 

Swartwout, Rudtilf — sherifT. 



u I ST o Rv OP p o r G H K n n p s I n . 



2t. 



Ter Bos, Jacobus — 

Ter T'os. Johannis — 

\'an 1 it'll sliottii, Elias — captain. 

\ an Cleec, Louereiis — captain. 

\'an(lerlnirg, I lenry — dark. 

\'an Kttcn, Jacobus — 

\ an Klceck, I'arent — major. 

\'an Clcck, Picter — justice. 

\ an Clock, Joliannis — 

\ an W'agcnen. Kvert — captain. 

Wistfalk-, Wouter — 

Kip, jacdh, Jr. — ca])tain. 

\'an W'aLjcnen (icrrit — captain. 

'734- 
Brett, Francis — ensign. 
BrinkerliolT. Abraham — 
Bumshoten. Elias — captain. 
De Witt. Jacol) — leftenent. 
Du Bois, Metthis — justice. 
Filkins Frans — judge. 
Hussey, James — captain. 
Kip, R'd — justice of the i|U(iruni. 
Livingston, Gil. — major. 
Osterhout, Jan — ensign. 
Scott, William — coroner and justice. 
Squire, W'illiam — sheriti'. 
Swartwout, Bernardus — 
Swartvvout. Jacobus — justice. 
Tebos, Jacobus — -justice. 
Terbos, Johanni.s — judge. 
\'an Campen. Jacob — ca])tain. 
Wan Cleec, L(nveren.s — leftemni ;niil justice. 
\'anderl)urg, Henry — 

\'an Kleeck. I'.arent — leftenent and colonel. 
\'an Kleeck, Macliiel — leftenent. 
\'an\v\ck. Cornelius — 

I'eekmaii. Henry — justice. 

*Cra\vler. Peter. 

*Crandler, Peter. 

Haber, I'ragbarys — 

Knickerbacker, Lourens— justice. 

Spater, Johainiis — minister. 

Wil.son, James — sheriff. 
It is a little difficult to tell from the old i)aper just 
what the offices held were in all cases. The list does 
not exactly agree with the colonial civil Hst as pub- 
isheil In the State, which d<ies not give Rudolf Swart- 
wout among the sherilfs. The two persons whose 
names are preceded by a star could not write their 
names and are marked "naturalized," as is also Air. 



Spater, tiie minister. There arc two later colonial lists 
on file among the county ])a|X'rs. 

TiiK Pkix'i.nct ok Town oi' I'oc.ii Ki;iii>siF.. 

The County of Dutchess, as has already been 
shown by the first rect)rded tax roll, was divided into 
three wards as soon as it had enough population to 
w-arrant a division, "The South Division to begin at 
the Soutli side of the Highlands & Northward to 
Wapaingers Creek, the Middle Division to begin at 
the aforesaid Wajjaingers Creek, & so Northward 
to Cline sopas Island. & the North Division to be- 
gin on the Northside of the .Midle Division, ami end 
ing on the Northernmost bounds & extent of tjic 
County."' No eastern boundaries were assigned, 
"Cline sopas Island" is the present Esopus Island, not 
far from Hyde Park. The Middle Division was 
therefore very much the smallest of the three, indicat- 
ing that the population was mostly concentrated there. 
In 1737 the county was further divided into seven i)re- 
cincts. in general corresponding to the great land 
grants, excc])! the "Poghkeei)sie Precinct." which in- 
cliuled "all the Lands to the Northwest of Wapi)ingers 
Kill or Creek from the mouth thereof And up along the 
.said Kill or Cwik \- Hudson's River until it meets 
the Patent ('.ranted to Heathcole & Conii)any called 
the Lower .Nine Partners." Thus the precinct or 
town of Poughkeepsie came into existence with practi- 
cally its present boundaries. This act provided for the 
election of supervisors, assessors, etc. the first Tues- 
day in April, but there was no ])rovision for a Town 
or Precinct Clerk until 1741. In 1749 the "Precinct 
of Poghkeepsie" — this was the official spelling until 
after the Revolution — bought a book and copied in it 
the records from 1742. and from that time the records 
of the tow-n elections are complete. Town meetings 
were of course held in Poughkeepsie and the town 
clerk's office remained here for many years. The first 
]>age of the town hook is as follows: 

At a meeting of the Inhabitants of Poghkeepsie 
Precinct in Dutchess County on Tuesday the Sixth 
Day of .April 1742 when I)\ a Plurality of N'otes were 
chosen for the \ear l'",nsuing viz: 

John \ an Kleeck Supervisor 

Lewis Du ISois I , 

n 1 ■ T /^ i . .Assessors 

liowflewme l.,a Count \ 

Parent Lewis, Overseer of ye Road to ye Northward 

lienjamin \'an Keuren Do To ye Southward 

Tohn Tappen Do To ve Eastward 

John MaxtieUl Do To ye North East 

1 lenry Livingston Town Clerk 

lohn Ten Brook Collector 



1 Colonial L.iws, Vol. I. p. 1033. This act is dated June 
24. 1719. hut it appears from the ta.x roll quoted that the di- 
vision had been made as early as 1717. 



26 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIB. 



Abraham Freer Pound Master 

Peter Viele ( ,, ,,• 

Frans La Roy ) ^'^"'^'^ ^'^"""^ 

Bartho^new Noxon [ • Overseers of the Poor 

Henry \ an Den Burgh j r- . i i 

Johannes Swartwout } Constables 

In tlie next year John Conklin, Jacobus Van 
Bomell, Moses De Graff and Augustus Turick come 
on the Hst of precinct officers and Abraham Freer is 
designated "Pounder." The overseers of the roads 
in 1743 were 

Henry Livingston — Overseer of ye Road to ye 
Northward. 

Isaac Lassing — Do To ye Southward. 
Myndert Van Den Bogert — Do to Du Bois. 
John Rynders — Do To ye nine partners. 

Nearly all these inen lived in or near the present 
city limits of Poughkeepsie. The references to the 
roads are clear except that "To Du Bois." In the 
record of the next year's election, 1744, the road "To 
ye nine partners" becomes the road "To filkintown." 
Henry Filkins was sheriff from 1743 to 1748 and the 
settlement named from him was in the neighborhood 
of Mabbettsville. In the 1744 records five roads are 
mentioned and among the overseers are : 

Matewis Kip — from Lewis Du Bois to Callrugh. 

Gerret Davis — from Lassing's to Du Bois Mill. 

In 1745' the roads are designated simply "North," 
"South," "filkintown, "Simeon La Roy" and "Lewis 
Du Bois." In 1751 Gulian Ackerman is mentioned as 
overseer to "Du Bois Bridge" and Peter Du Bois to 
"La Roy's Bridge," while a sixth road "from Perdon's 
to P. Lassings" comes in. In 1754 Clear Everitt was 
overseer "To Larroys Bridge" and Francis Littamore 
"From Gedion Duboys to P. Road." Clear Everitt 
became sheriff in 1754 and he lived, I believe, at the 
mouth of the Fall Kill and owned the milF there. 
This leads one to conjecture tliat the road in his 
charge might have been Mill Street and that there was 
a bridge across the Fall Kill somewhere near him call- 
ed La Roy's Bridge. In 1755 the road masters were: 

Post Road South Roelif Westerfelt 

Post Road North James G. Livingston 

From Gidioii Duboys to Post Road James Lucky 

Filkintown Road Gabriel U. Ludlow 

From Call Rugh to Simeon Larroy's Bridge John DcGraff 

From Ferdon's to Hock Landing Abraham Lassen 

"Call Rugh" must be our Kaal or Call Rock and 
early maps show a road leading aroimd from it to 
Mill Street about at the junction of Mill and Clover 

'Tunis Van Vlict comes on the records as road overseer 
in this year and Casparus Westerfelt in 1746. 

2A deed from Henry Baycaux to Anne F.vcrct, dated 1761, 
refers to him as owner of this mill. 



Streets. It has all sorts of spellings and in the 1759 
records becomes Call Bergh and is once or twice 
spelled Colburgh. There was evidently a landing 
place there with an authorized town road leading to it 
as early as 1744. It comes all the way down in the 
records to 1790 with occasional omissions. Mr. Loss- 
ing Jiays that the rock receiveil its name because 
it was the place from which passing sloops were 
signalled, and the fact that the landing place there 
was used as early as 1744 and appears to have been the 
principal Poughkeepsie landing place for a time, makes 
it seem possible that he was right, though a derivation 
from the Dutch word Kalil (bald; has been sug- 
gested as more probable. The road mentioned in 1744 
"from Lewis Dubois to Callrugh" is puzzling. If 
Dubois lived where road surveys of the same date 
seem to place him, on what we now call the New 
Hackensack Road, and where he certainly was living a 
few years later — DuBois's IMill was in 1770 at the out- 
let of what is now Vassar College Lake — then there 
must have been a road regarded as continuous all the 
way from his neighborhood to the Call Rock landing, 
certainly evidence of the importance of the landing. 
.\o map shows such a road, unless it may be taken to 
include the New Hackensack Road to Main Street, 
and the winding way on about the lines of Washington, 
Mil! and Clover Streets. The old road books contain 
many such puzzles and modern surveyors who have 
gone through them searching for the early lines have 
marked a considerable number of the roads "un- 
known." Doubtless the location of some has been 
so entirely changed as to be unrecognizable, but the 
puzzles presented by most of them could be worked 
out by a careful comparison of old maps, deeds and 
traditiiMis as to where the people mentioned lived. 

Some Colonial Events. 

There were a number of events of sufficient excite- 
ment to lend variety to the life of tlie little hamlet of 
Poughkeepsie in Colonial days, but they were gen- 
erally county matters brought to the county seat for 
legal action. The examinations in 1744 at "Pikipsi" 
of the Moravians, Buttner, Ranch and Mack, who had 
established a successful mission among the Indians 
at Shekomcko, reflected the bitter religious prejudices 
of the tiiues and the fear of the French. The driving 
of these noble, unselfish Christians from the county 
was an episode of which no one can be proud. The 
history of the Moravian mission iias been pretty fully 
written, and is well covered in the Dutchess County 
History published in 1882. There is little evidence 
that the persecuted missionaries found much sympathy 
among the inhabitants of Poughkeepsie. who doubt- 
less shared the insane suspicion of the day that the 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 



27 



Moravians were in some way acting in the interest 
of the French. That fear of the French was not al- 
together absurd at this time the following letter to 
Henry Livingston, the County Clerk, fiom his brother- 
in-law, shows : 

Rinebeek Novem. 23 — 1745 
Loving Brother, 

We are att presnt in good health, hope 
by god's Blessing this may find you & family the same 

1 Recieved this Morning at 5 oclock a letter from 
Uncle P. Livingston to witt — that there was 600 
french & Indians near hosick Drawing Down to the 
English Settlements which news came Post Down to 
him & he sent it Likewise to me, his Letter was Dated 
Last night 12 oclock 

I Kmiediately sent it over pr post as your father 
was the nearest Colonell 

1 Dount Doudt but you have heard of the murder 
committed att scharightoga were they kild all they 
could gitt both man & beast, as for the particulars we 
have not yet heard, it is supposed that Mr. Philip Schy- 
ler is first shot & then burnt in his own house 

my wife son & self ]o\\\ in Love to you sister & 
Gille & am your to command, 

jAtOI! RuTSEiV. 

On the side of the sheet are written the words 
"In great haste." News carried by direct messengers 
on horseback was not so slow as we are inclined to 
imagine, but additional particulars were hard to ob- 
tain and alarm was proportionally greater. Here is 
another letter which shows something of the feelings 
of one Dutchess County boy pursuing the French far 
away from home. 

Launciston June ye ist, 1745 
Loving Brother this is to let you know that I am 
in good health and I hope this will find you in the 
same dear brother I am very sorry that I did not stay 
at home with you for I do repent very much my 
coming in a man of war for here is nothing else but 
Cursing and swaring every day Now we are Cruising 
of Capertuny i8th of last may we took a french man 
of war of 64 Guns Brother I wish I was now with 
you at home out of this miserable place I ho])e you and 
sister and Cousin (lilbert are in good health, no more 
at ])resent but mw your Loving brother 

Samuici. T<ivixr,STox. 

During the French and Indian War Governor 
Hardy called out the militia of Dutchess and Ulster 
Counties, after the surrender of Oswego to the French 
in 1756. There was nuich traveling by important 
personages up and down the river throughout tlie war. 
for .\lbany was the military headquarters. The Earl 
of Loudon marched an army from New York to Al- 
bany by the Post Road, which we are told was opened 
1)\ him through the Highlands where it had been 
merely a trail before. The Dutchess militia were 
sent to reinforce his army at Lake George and prob- 
ablv a few residents of Poughkeepsie town spent 



the fall of 1756 in the wilderness at Fort William 
Henry, watching the French at Ticondcroga, and then 
in the winter returned home leaving the work to the 
British regulars. Probably also some of them were 
among Webb's provincials at Fort Edward, who 
failed' to go to the relief of Fort William Henry in 
time to prevent its capture by Montcalm the next year. 
In 1766 there were soldiers again at Poughkeepsie, 
British regulars, and we learn from a letter- written 
by SheriflP James Livingston that there was a skirmish 
between the military and the people. This skirmish, 
however, took place in the eastern part of the county 
near Quaker Hill and was a part of the "anti-rent 
war" against the great land holders. One of the 
anti-rent leaders, William Pendergast, was brought to 
Poughkeepsie and his trial is one of the causes cele- 
brcs of Colonial days. He conducted his own defense 
assisted by his wife, but the jury found him guilty. 
The wife, as soon as the result was announced, started 
at once on horseback for New York, obtained a re- 
prieve from the Governor, and was back in three days. 
Such a woman could hardly be expected to fail in what 
she undertook. She followed up her success with an 
application to the King himself, and in six months a 
full pardon came from George III and Pendergast 
and his noble wife went home amid great rejoicings.^ 
The eastern Dutchess people were mostly Yankees 
from Connecticut and not so deliberate in their move- 
ments as the Dutch of the river neighborhoods. 

Some Signs of Growth. 

The development of a town in the neighborhood of 
the Court House and Dutch Church was about as de- 
liberate as anything could be, but after 1750 the Coun- 
ty of Dutchess began to grow rapidly and the popula- 
tion was almost doubled between 1749 and 1756, the 
census of the latter year putting it at 14,157. In 1756 
William Smith, the historian of New York, said of the 
county. "The only villages in it are Poughkeepsie and 
the Fishkill, but they scarce deserve the name." It 
is something to know that Poughkeepsie was called a 
village at that time, forty-three years before it was 
officially incorporated, and it may also be some satis- 
faction to know that Xewhurgli wasn't yet heard of. 
Of Orange County Smith says. "Their villages are 
Goshen, Bethlehem. and Little Britain." Kingston, on 
the other hand already had "about one-hundred and 
fifty houses, mostly of stone, is regularly laid out on a 
dry, level spot and has a large stone church and court 

iParkman's "Montcalm and Wolfe," Vol. I, pp. 439-497 
and Vol. II, p. 2. 

^Calendar of English Manuscripts, Sec. of State's Office, p 

763. 

sSketch in Weekly Eagle, May 17th, 1856. 



28 



HISTORY o J- p OUGHKEEPSI E 



house near the centre." He might liave mentioned the 
fact that we had a pretty good Court House also at 
that time, judging from the time required to finish it. 
The second Court House was authorized as we have 
seen, in 1743, when an appropriation of £300 was 
made, then in 1745 £300 more were appropriated, in 
1750 £130 more and in 1753 an additional £50, ac- 
cording to the Colonial acts. Presumably, therefore 
this Court House was finished for something less than 
$2,000, but money purchased a great deal more in 
labor and material then than it does now. In 1764 
another £70 was authorized for converting "(iul- of tin- 
Jury Rooms in the County House into a Jail," and 
in 1765 £200 was added to this. Both the Court House 
and the jail were certainly large enough to be of 
a great deal of service during the Revolution. 

i^y 1756 the English population had so much in- 
creased, as we have seen, as to attract the occasional 
services ot a missionary of the Church of England, 
and the Presbyterians were also on the ground. Rev. 
Samuel Seabury, the Church of England missionary, 
is authority for the statement that a considerable num- 
ber of families from Long Island were settlint; in 
Dutchess County at this time. 

The river trade was becoming of some ini- 
l)ortancc in Poughkeepsie, as references already 
made to the "Call Rugh" road show, and tlouhi- 
less there was also a landing place at the iiiuuth 
of the Fall Kill. According to tradition the old grist 
mill, which preceded the dye-wood mills, was raised 
on the day of Uraddock's defeat in 1755, and stoud 
until 1849, wlicn it was burned. It was during tli.s 
period that the two crooked roads to the river that we 
now know as Pine Street and Union Street originated. 
In a deed' from William \'an Derburgh to Richard 
Davis, dated Oct. 9th, 1761, the three acres of grcnind 
conveyed are described as "Ijcginning at a white oak 
tree standing at the South side of a small Creek called 
the landing place Killetje," and there is a stipulation 
for "a convenient open road of the breadth of three 
rodds from the post road through tlic other lands of 
the said William V'an Derburgh to a Store House that 
may be hereafter built or building to be and remain a 
])ublick and ojjen road forever." This was tlie road 
marked on the ma])s of a few years later as "Richard 
Davis's Road" and after 1800 was named Pine Street. 
It followed a winding course seeking an easy grade 
into the valley of the Killetje (little kill.) Evidently 
the landing i)lace had been used before that time, but 
had not been improved. Four small streams converg- 
ed at this landing place, as shown on the 1798 and 
I7<>j maps, — see frontis])iece, also Chapter \' — 



1 Liber 14, p. 254. 



and the last of them has only recently been put into the 
sewer. One* of them flowed through Eastman Park, 
coming down between Montgomery and Xoxon 
Streets, but the ground has been so completely chang- 
ed by filling that its course is difficult to trace. The 
cove at the mouth of the Killetje was as much of a 
"safe harbor" as that at the mouth of the Pall Kill. 

John De Graff, (either the same man mentioned in 
the first supervisors and justices" records or his sonj, 
owned the ne.xt farm north of William \'an Derburgh, 
and had also built a store house at the river front by 
1766. In 1767 a road was laid out by the town com- 
missioners (Book C, Roads, p. 74) on petition of John 
De Graff and his son-in-law James Winans "petition- 
ers having both a Dwelling and a store House near 
Hudson's river * * and being desirous to have 

a public Landing place there and not having an open 
road from the Kings Road to the premises." The 
road is described as beginning "at said Store House 
thence along the Bank to the Dug way thence up the 
!!ank as the road now goes to the Top of the Hill 
thence along the east side of the Hill to the west of 
the Brook till it comes to the Creek thence over the 
same as the road is now opened To the Kings road at 
the south side of the Court House." Who could 
recognize all this for LInion Street, except l\v the ter- 
minus at the south side of the Court House? .\ little 
consideration of old maps and the situation of the 
ground will show ]jretty plainly that the "Dug Way" 
and the "to]) of the Hill" must refer to the lower part 
of I iiion Streit (the road up from the old Lower 
I'mnace). This landing place during or soon after 
the Revolution became known as the "Union Landing" 
and the road to it was called "The Union Store Road." 
James Winans in the meantime had built himself a 
store house and a landing further south, near Richard 
Davis's store house, but on the north side of the 
Killetje. The fact that a branch road from the Union 
Store Road led to it (a road which became the end of 
South Water Street) appears to indicate that the 
Killetje was not bridged so that Davis's road could 
l)e reached from that side. 

When the first store house was erected at the 
mouth of the Fall Kill we do not know, but it i)rob- 
al)l\ antedatetl all the others, and a deed from Clear 
l''veritt to .Xathaniel Seaman in 1764 refers to "Houses, 
.Mill, Mill House, Store Houses," etc. Down to this 
time this property, the site f>f the first mill in Pough- 
keepsie, can be clearly traced through deeds on record. 
It passed from Myndert Hcermance to Leonard Lewis 
in 1710, from Lewis to his wife by will, dated 1723, 

Mt fiirnislu'd the w.iter for flondinK the old Eastman skat- 
iiiK park. 



HISTORY OP P O U G II K E a P S I H . 



2i) 



and then to Anthony Yclvcrton in 1740. He sold 
in 1755 to Martin HofYnian of Rhinebeck, which seems 
t(3 mark the coming of the Hoffman family, who lived 
in that neighborhood many years. Hoffman sold 
( ])crhaps not all the property) to Clear Everitt in 1760 
and Everitt sold to Nathaniel Seaman, as noted, in 
1764. There the record stops. Robert L. Livingston 
of Clermont came into the possession of the mill after 
this in some way, but perhai)s not until after the 
Revolution. He is said to have built the substantial 
stone house, afterwards the home of the Hoffman and 
Sherman families and recently the home of Mr. Charles 
N. Arnold. This house of course originally had a 
peaked roof. 




Till- Iliiffiiiaii <ir SluTiiuiii llotisc — Tahcii 1904. 
1 'ROM I. VENT CoLD.MAl. 1'* AM Il.IliS. 

An interesting little survey map' of the Hudson 
River from "the mine point to the crnm elbow" — a 
maj) upon which Gilbert Livingston endorsed a state- 
ment in 1794 that it was made by his father about 56 
years earlier — has the mill marked "Lewis Mill." It 
Henry Livingston did make the survey and map as 
early as 1738, it was made before he came to Pough- 
keepsie, or at least before he bought property here. 
The marks on the map indicating buildings and their 
owners, etc.. were certainly later additions, for a "ship- 
\ard" is indicated in the neighborhood afterward 
called "Ship Yard I'oint" and "Richard Davis's Store 
House" is so marked. Near the "Rust platts Killitie" 
is a hou.se marked "Conklin's." which would seem 
to show that Gilbert Livingston or one of his brothers 
wrote the names on the map, for they naturally knew 
all about that place. Henry Livingston.- the first of 
his name in Poughkeepsie, was a son of Gilbert Liv- 

iMap 5, County Clerk's Office. 

-A good sketch of the family will he found in the Sunday 
Courier, Feb. 21, 1892. See also C. E. Smith's History of 
Rhinebeck, p. 77. 



ingston and Cornelia Beekman, and was born at Kings- 
ton, Sept. 8th, 1714. His father was a son of the 
"first lord" of Livingston Manor. He married Susan 
Conklin and i)urchased his property here from John 
Conklyn, as the name is spelled in the deed, Nov. i6th, 
1742, and the same year became county clerk, an office 
which he retained until 1789, and in which he was 
succeeded first by his son Robert Henry Livingston 
and then in 1804 by another son, Gilbert Livingston. 

Henry Livingston's brother, James G. Livingston, 
was sheriff of Dutchess County from 1701 to 1769 
(succeeding Clear Everitt), and also lived in Pough- 
keepsie. Philip J. Livingston of Livingston Manor, 
the Tory sheriff of early Revolutionary times, prob- 
ably also lived here during his term of office. Besides 
these and their families there was Robert L. Living- 
ston already mentioned as owning the mill at the mouth 
of the Fall Kill at one time. He is said to have lived 
at Rhinebeck, where he also owned mills, but may have 
resided here for a time, as one of his daughters 
married' John Crooke of Poughkeepsie, and his son, 
Robert G., married Marthe de Reimer of the same 






i^niti 



l/ciiiy Liciiii;stuii House — Taken about 1870. 

The house built by Henry Livingston, probably 
soon after his ]nircha.se in 1742 of a part of the Conklin 
property just south of Poughkeeiisie, on the river front, 
is still standing, though much disfigured, and is now 
used as an office by the Phoeni.x Horse Shoe Com- 
l)any. It was a delightful country .seat far into the 
present century and was occupied b\' descendants of 
Henry Livingston until about 1870, though the rail- 
road destroyed much of its attractiveness. Henry 

ijiistory of Rhinebeck. p. 78. 



30 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEBPSIB. 



Livingston's chiklren, of wliom wo shall learn more in 
subsequent chapters, were lieckinan, Robert, Henry, 
John H., Gilbert, Catherine, Joanna, Susan, Alida, 
Cornelia, and Helen. Some of them were buried in the 
little family burying ground now in a neglected con- 
dition on the old Livingston Place. 

A Kingston family, the Tappens, begin to appear 
on the Poughkeepsie town records not long after the 
Livingstons, Tennis Tappen, who is mentioned as a 
road overseer in 1751, being apparently the first of the 
name. Bartholomew Crannell, whose father had been 
sheriff of New York, settled in Poughkoc]isie about 
the same time and became the law partner of Henry 
Tvivingston, and also owner of a large tract of land now 
in the heart of the city, mostly north of Main and east 
of Catherine Street. His wife was a Van Klecck, ac- 
cording to the genealogists, and his three daughters all 
married in Poughkeepsie — one of them Gilbert Liv- 
ingston, a son of Henry Livingston, another Peter 
Tappen and the third Rev. John l'>eardsley, first rector 
of the English Church, of which Mr. Crannell was per- 
haps the most prominent member, the Livingstons and 
Tappens being members of the Dutch Church. In 
1764 P.artholomew Crannell^ gave to Gilbert Living- 
ston and Catherine his wife, "Daughter of the said 
P.artholomew Crannell," property on the north side of 
the Filkintown Road, and they lived in a pleasant house 
which stood for many j'ears where the First National 
Bank is. Catherine Street thus obtained its name. To 
Peter Tappen and Elizabeth, his wife, Mr. Crannell 
presented adjoining property to the eastward, and 
Crannell Street marks about the location, as will appear 
in another chapter. Bartholomew Crannell himself 
lived in a house which stood on the south side of the 
road, near what is now the corner of South Clinton 
Street, and he owned the mill on the Fall Kill near li\ . 
When the first mill in this neighborhod was built I 
have no evidence, but Crannell owned it as early as 
1767. There was also a road at that time leading 
from the Filkintown Road, from about opposite Cran- 
nell's house, across the Fall Kill below the dam and 
taking about the direction of Smith Street. It first 
appears on the town records in 1760 as the "New Laid 
out Road threw the Commons." 

Crannell's house was built in 1744. as appears from 
the following entry in the account book of Francis Fil- 
kin, who was probably the pro])rietor of the first shop 
or store in Poughkeepsie : 

Bartholomewus Creiuiel 

1744 I Carted all what I'.elangs to lii> building <>f 
his house and vidling he and wife 5 monts and vidling 
all his workmen of liis house and my people workt sev- 



' Liber 19, p. 395. 



eral weeks at said house which Came to thirty pounds 
which I never had one farding for it. 

Filkin was apparently keeping shop in Poughkeep- 
sie as early as 1730, and he left an account book which 
is partly also a diary and full of interesting entries. 
This book is partly in Dutch and has curiously enough 
been preserved in the County Clerk's Office among the 
records, possibly because no one has known just what 
it was. He married Cathrena Lewis, daughter of 
Leonard Lewis and widow of Pieter Van Kleeck, Sept. 
8th, 1733, and his account contains his whole family 
record, and a good deal about other people in the 
neighborhood. Among other things "June 25, 1744, 
don is trintie van Kleck Gclrout met Bartholoincwis 
Crennel by domini Wise." 

Not everybody in Poughkeepsie was married by a 
dominie in those days. Filkin was a justice and per- 
formed a considerable number of ceremonies himself, 
of which he leaves the following interesting record : 

beer onder Stan dc personcn Ghe schn.ven dien ick 
Ghe trout hcb als Justics 
(k-sm 1735 Baltus van Kleck jnr met anna van 

drburgh 
Janr 17 1736-7 Lowerens Gebrants met mery do Graf 

wedo 
niey 1738 Rollef dc dniser met trintie Rinders 

niey 1737 Arry de Langh jnr met margrita 

vlegelar 
A])!- 173S Ened Mccgricry met Gctrui vleglar 

.\'ov 173!"' Louwerens de Laugh met neltic par- 

montir 
Mav 4 1731) Simon Laroy wer: met bkuulina v 

Kleck wedo 
Actiir I 17 ^; necklas van wagene met hcster de 

Graef 
desm 21 I73<) Getrout de ouste son van Tsack Lass- 

ing met sclitie Coke her hict piter 
Aprl 26 1740 Glie Irout piter van kleck met trintie 

van Kleck docter van Lmnvtrens v 

Kleck 
Supni 1740 Ghe trout Isack ITcgeman iiu't nola 

d Graef 
ilcsni 1740 Ghe trout mindert vilen met Rebacka 

palmetier 
A]>ril iS 1741 Ghe trout .\braliani dc Graef nut 

marrilie van wagene 
mey 13 dagli Ghe trout Isack wiU- met Helena 

Rinders by ecu Justies 
(lesmr 1742 dan Getrout Hendrick pels nut Jan- 

natie osterom 
Augt () 1744 flan Ge trout William alien nut Sara 

I Tegeman 
Janvi 1744-5 dan ge trut Clear Isveret met magh- 

dalena van dr burgh 
nu'v 6 1743 dan Getrout daved Roomin wer; met 

marya Freer in de Cerck 

T bleve 1 m.irried John Jarmon with F.lesabeth Fil- 
kin 1 vergat to sat it down. 



HISTORY OF POUGHKBEPSIB. 



31 




fOUGHKKEPStK IN IT TO. 

Pari of map of lands held under the Sanders-Haniians Patent, made by Will Cockburn. 



32 



HISTORY 01- FOUGHKHBPSIE 



Indeed the order of some of the dates above seems 
to indicate that he "vergat to sat" any of them down 
until some time after the \vedding5 took place. Most 
of these dates indicate times when there was no Domi- 
nic in Poughkeepsie. and Kingston Church records 
show that some Pt)ughkeepse couples went there to be 
married. 

Will Cockburn's map, a part of which is shown on 
the opposite page, gives the names of the principal 
landholders in the present limits of Poughkeepsie. 
Crannell. it will be noticed, was one of the largest, 
with 1023/2 acres mostly on the north side of the Fil- 
kintown Road, but with a considerable tract about his 
house on the south side. Lewis Du Bois was a lead- 
ing landholder on the south side of the road, his land 
lying mostly east of Academy Street, which is indi- 
cated as a lane. James Livingston, the sheriff, owned 
a large tract, from Richard Davis's (Pine Street) 
South and to the Henry Livingston place, which we 
have not included. Myndert \'an Kleeck, John De 
Graff, Leonard Van Kleeck, Richard Snedeker, Bode- 
wein La Count, Barent I^cwis, and other names will 
be noted on the map. We shall meet these names in 
subsequent chapters. 

This map, which is on file at Albany, ajipcars to 
have been made as a result of a "petition of the inhabi- 
tants of the town of Poughkeepsie praying a warrant 
to lay out the lands purchased by them under the 
grant to Robert Sanders and Myndert Marnianse, 
and that they may obtain letters patent fnr the 
same."' There was evidently much litigation and 
questioning of titles at this tinu-, as shown by numer- 
ous documents preserved in the land papers in 
.Albany, from ijChj. the date of the petition, to 1772. 
The land holders apjiarently all had to sue for sep- 
arate grants from the Colonial government. Many of 
these grants may have been to lands previously re- 
garfled as commons and undivided. The map does 
not indicate all the roads laid out. and does not men- 
tion all the land holders of the neighborhood. Clear 
Rveritt, for instance, is not on it, nor his .son, Richard 
Everitt, but a deed on record from the former to the 
latter dated 17^7, conveys "All that certain lott 
piece and parcel of land lying in poghkeejisie pre- 
cinct bounded easterly on lands belonging to ilugli 
X'^an Kleeck, Northerly on the fallkill or Mr. Cran- 
nell's mill pond westerly on a lott f)f land helnng- 
ing to Leonard V^an Bummel and .southerly on the road 
leading from the Court House to Kilkintown." This 
was unmistakably the lot on which the stone house, 
now called the Clinton House or Museum, stands. The 
lot forming the eastern boundary will be noticed on 



the map with the initials II. \'. K. This map was a 
land map, made to show boundaries, and may not give 
all the houses then built, but as it does show many 
houses it seems a fair inference that it would at least 
have indicated the ownership of this lot, had so fine 
a house as this was been standing at the time, though 
the deed to Richard Everitt was not filed until 1796. 
The house was probably built soon after 1770, but 
there is no evidence as to whether Clear Everitt or 
Richard Everitt built it. The questions as to its use 
during the Revolution will be discussed in the next 
chapter. Leonard \ an Bummel. who owned the 
next lot west, is said to have changed his name in af- 
ter years to Maison. 

.Surveys were made in 1770 of four tracts of land 
belonging to Leonard \'an Kleeck in Poughkeepsie 
Precinct, and May 4th, 1771, Richard Snedeker and 
Lewis Duboys requested the Colonial governor that 
"the lots laifl out for them in the ma]) returned by Mr. 
Wni. Cockburn and surveyed at the request of the in- 
habitants of Poughkeepsie may be returned in the 
name of Leonard Van Kleeck." In the same year 
various inhabitants of Poughkeepsie asked for grants 
from a tract of 687^^2 acres of undivided land con- 
tiguous to their farms. In 1772 Richard Davis pe- 
titioned for a grant of 500 feet of land under water op- 
posite his lands, "for the i)urpose of erecting docks." 
and there were several other grants of land under 
water. 

iMunluT information as to tlie ini]iort;uit Colonial 
families of this time is to be obtained from town and 
county records aready f|uoted, particularly from the 
assessment rolls. The total assessment of the "Pogh- 
keepsie precinct" in 1771 was £808 and there were 235 
persons on the roll. The largest taxpayers were 
Leonard Van Kleeck. assessed at £32, Henry Living- 
ston £30, Robert I lofTman £22. Richard Snedeker £22. 
James Livingston. Zei)haniah i'latt. Lsaac Balding,' 
Henry and George Sands, each £16. Peter Harris £14. 
John Bailey, Jun. £13, Peter \'an Kleeck £12. John 
Frost £12, John Freer £11. Joshua Owen £11. John 
Conklin. Jacobus Palmatier, Arie \'an A'liet and Rich- 
ard Davis £10 each. Clear Everitt is assessed at only 
£3 and Richard Everitt at £1. IJartholomew Xoxon at 
£2. and William F.mott at £r. Bartholomew Xoxon's 
bouse on the Post Road was certainly built at this time 
and is .said to have been built in 1741. It is still stand- 
ing, though the front has been so modernized that it 



' F..nnd Papers. Vol. 25. p. 58. 



•This is. 1 think, the same man recorded as Isaac Baldwin 
diiriiit; the Revolution, .ts refusing to f.\gi\ the PIcdBe of 
.'\s<i()c-i,itinii. Our own cniinty records contain evidence that 
HeldinR. R.Tldinp;. Belden. Rolden and Baldwin are all vari- 
ations of one familv name. 



HISTORY OP POUGHKEEPSIB 



33 



looks like an okl house only when seen from the rear, 
and is probabl)' the oldest building in P(nighkeepsie. 

Houses are sometimes mentioned in the tax lists 
and seem to have been assessed at a uniform rate of £i. 

The last census of Dutchess County before the 
Revolution was taken in 1771, and showed a popula- 
tion (if j_',404. which placed the county very nearly at 
the head of the counties of the colony. Still the 
county seat remained a hamlet of not more than thirty- 
five or forty houses (see 1790 map. Chap. I\'. for 
houses built before 1770.) The town officers for this 
year were : 

SuiKM-visor — Richanl Snedcker. 
Essessors — Mindert Van Klceck. 

Peter Harris. Esq. 
Town Clerk — John \'an Klecck. 
Poor Masters — Mindert \'an Kleeck. 
John \'an Klceck. 
Joel l)u I'lOis. 
Constables — Richard Warner. 
Joel Du Bois. 
Francis Leroy. 
Collector — Johannes Fort. 
Fence X'iewers — .\braham \'an riiimnu-1. 

Abraham Frear. 
round Mastir — l'"rancis Leroy. 

Pathmasters as follows: 

Post Road North— Michael Pels. 



Post Road Centre — James Livingston. 

Post Road South — Cornelius I'rewer 

Kings Road to Hook Landing — Aroii Mcdler. 

from ye Call Rugh to lUeekers — John Childs. 

from I'lecckers to Leroy s I '.ridge — Jacobus Frear. 

Filkiii Town Road — John Low. 

Xew Road Leading through ye Commons — Joshua 
Moss. 

from Capt Harris to Cap \'an Kcurens — Peter 
Lyster. 

from Capt Harris to Thorns I'.ridge — Joseph Scott. 

from .Snedekers farm to the Cross Road leading 

to the Hook Landing — Isaac Lassing Jr. 

The Hook Landing was the old name of New 
Hamburgh. ,\ considerable increase in the number 
of roads is shown from the first record in 1742 and 
the town in the neighborhood of Poughkeepsie was 
evidently pretty well settled and much of the jirime- 
val forest must have been cleared. This town meet- 
ing of 1771 "voted also that sheep are not to bi- free 
Commoners." 

The Dutchess representatives in the last Colonial 
-Assembly. 1 7''xj- 1 77^). were Leonard Van Kleeck and 
Dirck Urinckerhoflf. Philip J. Livingston of I^iv- 
ingston Manor, was the last Colonial sheriflf, and 
Beverly Robinson, who lived down in the Highlands 
and owned a large part of what afterwards becanie 
Putman County, the last Colonial judge of the Court 
of Common Pleas. 




h'tw rit"L' oj Xo.ioit HoKSf, igo^. 



CHAPTER III. 



The Rkvolutiox — Early Mektixgs and Development of Anti-British Sentiment — The "Associ- 

ATORS" AND THE TORIES — MILITARY ORGANIZATION — POUGHKEEPSIE'S FiRST BoOM — ShIP BuILDING 

FOR THE Continental Navy — The Critical Year, 1777 — Fall of Fort Montgomery and 
Vaughn's Raid — Poughkeepsie Becomes the State Capital — Governor Clinton's Letters — 
Last Years of the War. 



No battle was fought at Poiighkecpsic during the 
war which brought the United States into existence 
as a nation, and from a miUtary standpoint the town 
was not notable ; but it became the center of great 
activity at an early period, was made the State capital 
after the eventful \ear 1777, and emerged from the 
war a town of much consequence despite its small 
population. We have but scanty records of the period 
preceding the outbreak of actual war in 1775. but 
Lossing tells us that a meeting was held at the Van 
Kleeck house to protest against the Boston Port Bill, 
and it is probable that there was some local action 
at the time of the Stamp Act Congress in 1765. We 
do not know whether the sturdy Dutch and English 
residents of the little town were much stirred by the 
earlier agitations that excited the New England and 
other sea-port towns, but we may be sure that though 
considerably divided in sentiment tluy were nnt nuich 
behind the times. 

.\s early as the summer of 1774 they were certain- 
ly in line with other patriotic neighborhoods, as we 
find from the following report of a meeting, .'Vug. 
loth, with the resolutions adopted, (.\mcrican 
Archives, Vol. I. p. 702) : 

Poughkekpsie (N. Y.) Resolutions. 
.\t a Meeting of the Freeholders and Inhabitants 
of Poughkccpsie Precinct in Dutchess County, in con- 
sequence of an advertisement f>f the Supervisors of 
said Precinct, on tlio loth of .August, 1774 

Zci)haniah Piatt, Chairman 

The question was put. "Whether we will choose a 
Committee agreeable to a re(|uest contained in a Letter 
from Mr. Isaac Low. Chairman of the Committee of 
Correspondence in New 'S'ork" 

Whicli was carried in the Negative. 

The following Resolves were then unanimously 
entered into : 

1st Resolved. That although the members of this 
meeting (and they are jiersuaded the inhabitants of 
.\merica in general) are firm and unshaken in their 



allegiance to his Majesty King George, antl are en- 
tirely averse to breaking their connection with the 
mother country, yet they think it necessary to de- 
clare, that they agree fully in o])inion with the many 
respectable bodies who have already publislicd their 
sentiments, in declaring that the unlimited right claim- 
ed by the British Parliament, in which we neither 
are. or can be represented, of making laws of every 
kind to be binding on the Colonies, particularly of 
imposing taxes, wdiatever may be the name or form 
under which they are attempted to be introduced, 
is contrary to the si)irit of the liritish Constitution, 
and consequently inconsistent with the liberty which 
we, as British sulijects. have a right to claim, and. 
therefore, 

2(\ Resolved. That it is the o])inion of this meeting 
that letters of Instruction be directed to the Members 
of the General .\sscmbly for the Comity of Dutchess, 
desiring that at the next meeting of the General .As- 
sembly for the l"'rovince of New York, they will lay 
before that honourable House the dangerous con.se- 
quences flowing from several late Acts of the British 
Parliament imi)osing duties and taxes on the Briti.sh 
Colonies in .\merica. for the sole purpose of raising 
a revenue, and that they use their influence in the 
said House, and with the several branches of the 
Legislature, to lay before his Majesty an humble Peti- 
tion and Remonstrance, setting forth the state of our 
several grievances, and praying his Royal interposi- 
tion for a repeal of the said .Acts. 

,Vl Resolved. That in the opinion of this meeting, 
that they ought, and are willing to bear and i)ay such 
part and proportion of the national ex])enses as their 
circumstances will admit of, in such manner and form 
as the General .Assembly of this Province shall think 
proper; and that like .sentiments, adopted by the Legis- 
latures of other Colonies, will have a tendency to con- 
ciliate the affections of the mother country and the 
colonies, upon which their nnitual hai)piness, we con- 
ceive, principally depends. 

Ordered, That the Chairman of this meeting for- 
ward a copy of these our proceedings to the Chairman 
of the Committee of Correspondence in New A ork, as 
also a cop>' to one of the Printers of the iniblic papers 
in New "S'ork, to be forthwith j>ublished. 

liy order of the Meeting, 

John Davis, Clerk. 



HISTORY OP POUGHKEEPSIE 



35 



There is no evidence of any hysterical demands 
for "liberty or death" in these well-written resolu- 
tions. Not only is complete loyalty to the King ex- 
pressed, but there is a spirit of fairness in the sugges- 
tion that "they ought, and arc willing to bear and pa>- 
such proportion of the national expenses as their cir- 
cumstances will admit." though "in such manner and 
form as the General Assembly of this province shall 
think proper." There is distinct denial of the right 
of Parliament to impose taxes directly. On the whole 
the resolutions were those of a conservative, order- 
loving community, desirous of peace but not unmind- 
ful of the princi]-)les at stake. The conservatism of the 
people of the Poughkeepsic Precinct is also shown in 
their refusal at this meeting to appoint a committee, 
but it appears from the minutes of the Provincial 
Convention' that in the same month a county meet- 
ing called to nominate delegates to the first Continent- 
al Congress elected as a "Standing Committee of 
Correspondence" Anthony TToffman, John ^^^n Ness 
and Egbert IJenson. prnb,il)ly wilhout the su])])ort of 
Poughkeepsic. 

The opponents of tlic early plans for resisting 
British authority at this time called tiiemselvcs 
"Friends of Constitutional Liberty" and included 
several of the large landholders of the Poughkeepsic 
Precinct. They had the law and the General Asscm- 
l)ly on their side and saw no good reason for so 
nnich bluster over petty matters of taxation. They 
did not propose to bind themselves not to buy tea 
and other articles taxed or brought over in British 
ships. In fact a number of thetn entered into an 
association at a meeting held on Jan. 15th, 1775," de- 
claring "That we will upon all occasions mutually 
support each other in the free exercise and enjoyment 
of our undoubted right to liberty in eating, drinking, 
buying, selling, communing and acting what, with 
whom and as we please, consistent with the laws of 
God, and the laws of the land, notwithstanding the 
Association entered into by the Continental Congress 
to the contrary." They declared that "our Sovereign 
Lord King George the Third, is the only Sovereign to 
whom British Americans can or ought to owe and 
bear true and faithful allegiance" and that "our 
Representatives, in General Assembly convened, are 
the only guardians of our Rights and Liberties ; that 
without them no laws here can be made to bind us, 
and that they only are the channel through which our 
grievances can properly be represented for redress," 
etc. 



iRefcrence to the year before in the minutes of April 21st, 
"5. — American Archives, Vol. II, p. 356. 
2 American Archives, Vol. I, 1164. 



In this we see an indication of the state of affairs 
in the colony of New York. While in Massachusetts 
and Virginia the provincial legislatures had taken a 
leading part in the struggle, in New York the major- 
ity of the Assembly, which did not hold its last ses- 
sion until April 3d, was at first loyal to the King and 
refused to send delegates to the Continental Congress. 
The election of delegates in this colony, first by coun- 
ties and afterwards by provincial conventions, was 
therefore more distinctly extra-legal and revolution- 
ary than in some other colonies, and there was more 
force here in the plea that the Acts of the Continental 
Congress were not binding. It will be remembered 
that the first Continental Congress in the fall of '74 
adopted articles of association against trading with 
Great Britain, and this meeting of protest in Dutchess 
was doubtless called soon after the news reached here. 
We have not the names of the signers but may be 
certain that they were good citizens. 

Party feeling between the Whigs and the Tories 
was running pretty high in the spring of 1775 and 
"On the 21 st of March a few friends to liberty met 
at the house of Mr. John Bailey, about two or three 
miles from Poughkeepsic and erected a pole on his 
land with a flag on it, bearing on one side the A,'i;i_ij. 
and on the other the Coiif^rcss and Liberty; but the 
Sheriff of Dutches County the next day. attended by 
a Judge of the Inferior Court, two of His Majesties 
Justices of the Peace, and a Constable, with some 
others, friends to constitutional liberty and good order, 
cut the same down as a publick nuisance."' The 
"friends of constitutional liberty" even when accom- 
panied by Sheriff Livingston, two justices and a con- 
stable, evidently felt it necessary to be out in .some 
force, and the story is doubtless true that there was an 
altercation- and threats of arrest, whether or not 
"Zephanaiah Piatt seized a club and threatened to 
brain the sheriff." 

Early in April of the same year when meet- 
ings'' were held to select delegates for the provin- 
cial convention which was to send representa- 
tives to the second Continental Congress, Poughkeep- 
sie Precinct again showed its conservatism, voting 
no to // against sending delegates, and Charlotte 
I 'recinct, the next east, was of the same opinion by 
140 to 35. The county was nevertheless represented 
through the action of other precincts by Robert R. 
Livingston, Jr., Egbert Benson and Morris Graham. 

'N. Y. newspaper account in American Archives, Vol. II, 
p. 176. 

2 Benson J. Lossing in "Sketches in Local History," 
Dutchess Farmer, Dec. 12, 1876, and "Duchess" County His- 
tory, p. 130. 

^American Archives, Vol. II, p. 304. 



36 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 



but it looked a little tloubtful whether these men real- 
ly represented the sentiment of the county. 

All this was before the first fighting at Concord 
and Lexington, news of which reached Xew York on 
the 23d of April, the day after the provincial conven- 
tion adjourn.ed. Xow the people were really stirred 
and the Revolutionary committees went to work ener- 
getically and systematically. A call was sent out by 
the committee of New York City for a new provincial 
convention or congress and we find that "At a county 
meeting in consequence of notifications for that pur- 
]X)se on the i6th of May Dirck Brinckerhoff. .Xnthony 
Hoflfman, Zephaniah Piatt, Richard Montgomery, 
Ephraim Paine, Gilbert Livingston and Jonathan 
Landon Esqurs., and Messrs Gysbert Schenck, 
Melancthon Smith and Nathaniel Sackett were by a 
majority of voices Elected Deputies for the term of 
Si.\ months to represent the county of Dutchess in the 
Provincial convention to be held at the city of New 
York on the 22nd instant."' This appear.^ tn be tin- 
first record of Poughkeepsie representation in the 
Revolutionary conventions, at least two of these men. 
Gilbert Livingston and Zephaniah Piatt, being from 
this precinct. The Poughkecjisie Livingstons were 
early supporters of the cause of .\merican freedom, 
thought some of their relatives up the river were 
Tories. Piatt lived out at what is now the Frank l)c 
Garmo place on the Wappingers Creek and the 
house still standing is said to have been built by him. 
Dirck lirinckerhoflf of Fishkill was a member of the 
Colonial Assembly, never to meet again but still offi- 
cially in existence, and was evidently not of the Tory 
majority. Richard Montgomery of Red Hook was 
soon to become a famous general and one of the early 
martyrs to the cause. Most of the others we shall 
also hear from again. Of almost equal interest are 
the names of some of the signers of the certificate of 
election. Beverly Robinson, County Judge, heads the 
list, a man who afterwards became the leader of a 
noted Tory Regiment, which is evidence that some 
of the most conservative men were at this time 
supi><)rters of the cause of the colonists, though they 
could not approve actual separation from England. 
The other signers were James Smith, .Abraham 
iiockee. Cornelius Humphrey, Roswell Hopkins. .\u- 
anias Cf«pcr, Jacob Swartwout, Jonathan Lewis and 
Egbert Benson. 

Till-; Pl.KliC.K ol' .\SS()C1.\TI()N .\NI) TIIK ToKIKS. 

.■\mong the acts of the Provincial Convention or 
Congress to which the meeting of May i6th elected 
delegates was the endorsement of the "Pledge of Asso- 

'Caleiul.-ir of Rfvulutioii.Try I',npers, Sec. of Sl.ite's Office, 
Vol. 1. 



ciation," which had been formulated by "the freemen, 
freeholders and inhabitants of the city and county of 
New York" for the purpo.se of binding all who signed 
"to adopt and carry into execution whatever measures 
may be recommended by the Continental Congress or 
resolved upon by our Provincial Convention." Com- 
mittees were immediately appointed to circulate this 
])ledge, and the districts covered were small enough 
so that every man could be seen. The names of tho.se 
who refused to sign as well as the signers were put on 
record, and very soon the former began to find their 
])osition uncomfortable. It is recorded that even 
while the pledge was circulating here in Dutchess 
County in June and July many men changed from the 
"no" to the "yes" ranks. There were 1820 signers' 
in the county and 964 were returned as refusing. The 
Poughkeepsie precinct was apparently divided into six 
districts. The return of one of the sub-committee- 
men shows 32 signers and none refusing, of another 
32 refusers and 21 signers. iM the leading land 
owners .shown on the 1770 map Lewis Du Bois, Myn- 
ilert \'an Kleeck. Jamcs^Winaiis, Leonard Van Kleeck. 
Richard Snedcker, James Livingston. William Forman 
and Richard Davis are recorded as signing and Bar- 
tholomew Cranncll and John De Graflf as refusing. 
Some arc not mentioned at all and a few of these had 
probably died between 1770 and 1775. In place of 
Jacob Conklin appear the names of John, Matthew 
and Nathaniel Conklin as signers, also James Lewis 
instead of Barent Lewis, and several Swartwouts, Van 
Kleecks, and Van de Bogerts, in place of those given 
on the map. The \'an Kleeck family was divided, two 
members refusing to sign. Of other prominent resi- 
dents William Emott, Bartholomew Noxon. Ebenezer 
P)adger, five \'an Deburghs and several Ferdons were 
returned as refusing. The Everitts are not mention- 
ed, and there is evidence from the assessment rolls 
tiiat Richard Everitt was a Tor\ and was absent 
during a part of the Revolution at least. Clear Ever- 
itt. tlie former sheriff, may not have been an open 
supporter of the King. The minutes of the Super- 
visors for June 1st. 1784, contain the following: "To 
Clear Everitt for the use of his room for the use 
of the t'oiiit of ( )\er and Terminer to set in in 
jinie 1778 £2." Compensation for the use of Tory 
]ir()|)erty was not usual at that time. 

Some of the |)apers returned by the sub-com- 
mitteemen show tlu' strong feeling of the Revolution- 
;irv organizers against those who refused to sign. 
Silas Marsh, who made the canvass for one district of 
.North East Precinct encloses the names of three men 
'Sec Appendi.x for Poughkeepsie Precinct list: also Ameri- 
can .Archives, Vol. Ill, and Calendar of Revolutionary Papers. 
Vol. I, pp. 77, 78 and 79- 



HISTORY U /•" 1' O U (J n K T. H P S J E 



in a black burdL-r, inscribes tlic-iii "The black Role of 
Tories," and adds, "Thu out of my limits I am com- 
pelled to remind you Gentlemen of James Smith, 
Esqr. who is notoriously wicked." The lists of "As- 
sociators" are not conclusive evidence as to opinions 
throughout the Revolution, for some of the signers 
like Richard Snedeker were afterwards known as 
Tories, while a few who were on the "black list" after- 
wards supportetl the cause of American liberty warm- 
ly, and others after they saw themselves- powerless to 
stem the popular current ceased outspoken opposition. 
Something like forty or fifty residents of the town of 
I'oughkeepsie incurred the suspicion of the local com- 
mittees so strongly that their personal property was 
sold under forfeiture, possibly because they had aban- 
doned it, in 1777, but 1 think very few of them en- 
tered the British service. Bartholomew Crannell was 
one of the few, and was the only person in the neigh- 
borhood of the village whose real estate was confis- 
cated, so far as I have been able to find. The account 
of the sales of personal property has been preserved in 
a book now in the care of the Custodian of Records in 
the State Library at Albany. Each article sold is 
enumerated with the price, and the faithful certainly 
oiitained some fine bargains in horses, cattle and even 
in mahogany furniture. It is rather difficult to tell to 
what precinct or town the persons' whose property 
was sold belonged in all cases, for the arrangement is 
somewhat confused, but only a small proportion of the 
names of those who seem to have belonged to the Pre- 
cinct of Poughkeepsie are to be found in the list of 
men who refused to sign the Pledge of Association. 
They included, however. Plenry \'an DerBurgh, Rich- 
ard \'an Der I'urgh. Jacob Ferdon, several of the Las- 
sings, John I'.eardslex. the rector of the English 
Church, and Bartholomew Crannell. Ik-re again there 
is nn mention of the Everitts. 

In s])ite of Crannell's unswerving loyalty to the 
King, his two daughters, Mrs. Livingston and Mrs. 
Tappen, became equally strong adherents of the popu- 
lar side, and are said to have offended their father 
very early in the dispute by wearing aprons em- 
broidered "l.il)en\" and "Xo Tea" in his ])resence. 
The Tories were disarmed and closely watched, and if 
they refused to take the oath of allegiance, after the 
Declaration of Independence had been proclaimed, 
were arrested and kept in confinement or assigned to 
certain limits. Many of them also were sent within the 
British lines in exchange for Whigs. They were al- 
ways suspected of furnishing information to the 
enemy, of harboring British recruiting agents, or of 



'For list of persons who appear to have lived in the Town 
of Poughkeepsie, see Appendix. 



encouraging the bands of marauders that later in the 
war made me name of Tory so thoroughly detested. 
They were rounded up, not all at once but at various 
times, according to the exigencies of the occasion, as 
will be shown. 

Some of the arrests were unjustifiable; it i^ 
stated lliat a sixteen-year-old boy was arrested near 
Fishkill, brought to Poughkeepsie and hung, an inci- 
dent which nearly caused a riot. (Jf one youth, Wil- 
liam Haft, who got into trouble during the Revolution, 
a romantic story is told, lie lived a short distance 
east of Poughkeepsie and was doubtless a somewhat 
wild, roystering }outh, but withal a great favorite 
among the people, and especially among the young 
women in his neighborhood. He had incurred the 
animosity of a justice of the peace before whom he 
was brought for some prank, and who made use of his 
authority by sentencing Haff to be publicly whipped. 
This was entirely too much for the proud spirit of the 
young man, and he forthwith pitched into the justice, 
gave him, so the story goes, a sound licking and then 
ran away to the southward, where he ultimately joined 
the British army. After a while, becoming homesick 
for the sight of some of his old friends, and especially 
tor a certain joung woman with whom he was ac- 
quainted, he ventured up into the vicinity of his old 
home, was captured, tried and convicted as a deserter, 
and sentenced to be hung. While awaiting execution 
he was confined in the jail in Poughkeepsie, which was 
guarded by soldiers. At certain times the prisoners 
were allowed the freedom of a hall, or corridor, which 
extended from the front of the Court House on Mar- 
ket Street, to the rear of the building, facing west- 
ward, for air and exercise. Haf? did not lose his 
s])irits because of his perilous situation, but, as among 
his other accomplishments, he was a fine singer, oc- 
casionally would stand at the front w-indow and sing, 
his fine strong voice often attracting a crowd of people 
who stood in the street below to listen. Whether he 
had planned his subsequent action from the beginning, 
or whether it was suggested by the fact that he noticed 
the sokiiers sto])ping their patrol to stand beneath the 
window with the crowd while he sang, is not know-n, 
but one day at noon Haff appeared at the front win- 
dow and sang with unusual vigor and expression. 
There was a little pause, during which the sentries 
made the circuit of the building to see that all was 
safe, and HafT began singing again before they got 
back. .\ few minutes later there was another pause, 
and the soldiers remained on the Market Street front, 
waiting for him to resume, but this time he failed to 
reai)i)ear. and after waiting a few minutes they 
marched round the Court House, to find when they 
reached the west side that the window opening from 



38 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE 



the hall was open. Haff had jumped out and was 
already out of sight in tlie woods which then lay 
between the Court House and the river. An alarm 
was at once sounded and parties started to capture 
the daring prisoner, but they never saw him again 
till the war was over. Then among the conditions 
of peace there had been established a full amnesty for 
all military offences, whereupon Mr. Haff returned to 
Poughkeepsie, sporting his red coat and full P.ritish 
uniform as he marched up and down the streets, to 
the chagrin of his former persecutors, but to the great 
admiration of some of the young people, including 
the young woman for whom he had risked his life, 
and whom tradition apjiropriately says he afterwards 
married. 

The Declaration of Independence was the turning 
point which many good citizens felt that they could 
not approve, and it put the Church of Kngland at t>nce 
in a serious position, dependent as it w'as upon the 
authority of the liishops of the mother country. In 
the Christ Church records is the following minute : 

"At a vestry meeting held at the house of the Rev. 
Mr. John lieardsley on Saturday, July 13th, 1776, to 
Consider of the Rector stoping divine service in the 
church (In consequence of the Independency being 
declared by Continental Congress) until the vestry can 
hear from New York. Present the Rev'd John 
lieardsley Rector; Isaac lialdwin church Warden; 
llartholomew Crannell, William Hnituott, Isaac Bald- 
win, Jr. ; Robert Noxon, Kli Emans, John Davis, 
vestrymen. 

Taking the above affair in consideration Resolved 
that the Rector do from this time stop all Divine Ser- 
vice in the church until word can be had from the 
Rector of New ^'nrk dt from a convention nf tjic 
clergy." 

Whether this was a purely voluntary act or 
whether public clamor against the well-known o\nn- 
ions of the rector and several of the vestry had its 
influence does not appear. Mr. Crannell was jirob- 
ably arrested and sent to New York not long after this 
time, if the statement that he reached there before the 
liritish took pos.session is true, but the permission to 
go to New York for "The Reverend Mr. John 
lieardsley, his Wife and five Children His Negro 
Wench & three Negro Female Children with the 
Wearing Apparel, necessary Bedding for the Family 
& provision for their Passage,"' is dated January 
I". 177^. Mr. Beardsley's removal had been ordered 
in December, 1777, according to the church records. 
He became chaplain of lieverly Robinson's reginu-nt 
of Loval Americans and after the war settled at 



'Clinton Papers, Vol II, p. 574. This permission included 
Henry Vandenburgli and family, Mrs. Catherine Clopper and 
several others. 



.Maugerville,^ New Brunswick. Some of his des- 
cendants, particularly his youngest son Bartholomew 
Crannell Beardsley, attained considerable distinction 
in Canada. 

Military Organization. 

.As the war progressed every man was forced to de- 
clare himself, and pretty nearly every able-bodied man 
was forced to serve in the army at some time, or sub- 
ject himself to arrest. Under the Colonial system all 
able-bodied men were required to enroll in the militia, 
and wdien the Revolution was organized the system 
w as continued. A special "black list" of those who re- 
fused to sign the "Pledge of Association" was kept for 
each company. Dutchess County had seven regiments 
during the war, according to the rolls published by the 
State, though probably not all were in existence at the 
same time. They included two regiments of "Minute 
Men," one commanded by Col. Jacobus Swartwout, 
which appears to have been numbered the First Regi- 
ment. The 2nd Dutchess Regiment was commanded 
by Col. Abraham Brinckerhoff, the 3d by Col. John 
Field and Andrew Morehouse, the 4th by Col. John 
Frear, the 5tli by Cols. William Humphrey and John 
\anderburgh, the 6th by Cols. Morris Graham and 
Roswell Hopkins and the 7th by by Col Henry Luden- 
ton. The organization of the militia regiments was de- 
cidedly loose, there was little discipline, and they often 
failed when most wanted, but weak as they were, they 
always formed a reserve for emergencies and rendered 
some important service. Despite their unwillingness 
to turn out and leave their Imnus. there were times 
when the American cause would have fared much 
worse had it not been for the militia of Dutchess 
Comity, which during part of the war was the largest 
and strongest cinint\ in the Stale. Imtli in ]K)pulation 
and in taxable weallh. Besides the militia, though 
formed from it, there were independent companies 
specially organized to drill and prepare for service. 
( )ne such was formed in P<iughkecpsie in 1775 with 
John Sclienck, Caiitain, i)r. Peter Tapjien, 1st Lieuten- 
ant. John Child, -'d i.it utenant, and Matthew Van 
Keuren, Ensign. \\ lun tlieir commissions arrived in 
September they fmind tliemselves attached to Col. 
Swartwout's regiment nf minute men, and on Oct. 
26th they petitioned tn W ki|)t inde])endent, a])])arently 
a local manifestation nf the inn\ ilh'ngness to serve 
imder general ofticers. 

The real soMiers of the Revolution were those of 
the Continental .\rmy, enlisted for a term of years. 
Warrants for enlisting recruits in Dutchess County 
were issued June 28, 1775, to Captains Henry B. Liv- 



•Eaton's "Tlic Church in Nova Scotia," p. 161. 



HISTORY OF P U G H K E E P S I E 



39 



ingston, Louis DiiBois, Andrew Billings and Riifus 
Herrick; to First Lieutenants Jacob Thomas, Klias 
Van Bcnschoten, Jr., Ezekiel Cooper and Charles Gra- 
ham ; and to Second Lieutenants Roswell Wilcox, 
Cornelius Adriance, John Langdon and Jesse Thomp- 
son. Uf these men Henry B. Livingston became 
colonel of the 4th Line Regiment of Continentals. 
Rufus Herrick a captain and Roswell Wilcox and 
Jesse Thompson lieutenants. In the third line regi- 
ment, commanded by James Clinton, are found the 
names of Andrew Billings, Elias Van Benschoten, 
Lewis Duboys and Ezekiel Cooper as captains. The 
others do not appear in the lists published. Ezekiel 
Cooper seems also to have commanded a company 
known as the rangers during part of the war. There 
were certainly many enlistments from Dutchess and 
among the records of the Committee of Safety, dated 
July 12, 1775, is a letter from Capt. /Vndrew Billings 
of Poughkeepsie stating that he had enlisted seventy- 
two men and asking for orders. He was directed 
to put himself under the command of Col. Clinton. 
When Richard Montgomery of Red Hook had been 
commissioned a General and selected as a leader in the 
daring invasion of Canada in the fall of '75, many 
men from Dutchess accompanied him. Elias \ an 
Benschoten was one of these and was recommended 
by Gen. George Clinton for promotion at a latter peri- 
od, because of his service under Montgomery. 

Pouch keepsie's First "Boom" — Ship Building i-dk 
THE Xew N.wv. 

Mr. Joel Benton has been quoted as saying: "In 
colonial days few were the people here ; but the} 
were a bright and stirring handful."' They accom- 
plished enough during the Revolution to justify this 
assertion, and the little town was a wonderfully busy 
place during most of thr war. The fact of its location, 
far enough above the Highlands to be considered 
safe from the British, attracted a few families from 
New York, and also caused its selection as the place 
at which to build two of the thirteen frigates author- 
ized by the Continental Congress in December, 1775. 
This selection gave the town its first importance, and 
at about the same time it became the centre from 
which the Revolutionary correspondence of the county 
was conducted, having been previously barred by its 
conservatism. December 7th, 1775, Egbert Benson 
of Red Hook wrote to the I'rovincial Congress stating 
that the county committee had appointed "Col Freer, 
Capt. Piatt, and Messrs. John Child, Paul Schenck 
and Peter Tappen (all residing in Poughkeepsie) a 
Committee of Correspondence," because they were 

1 Bacon's Hudson, p. 426. 



more conveniently located than he to communicate 
with all parts of the county. During this month there 
was some correspondence about certain persons who 
refused to recognize the authority of the county 
committee to compel lliem to testify concerning the 
presence anel business of one John Harris, who was 
charged with enlisting men for "the Ministerial army." 
The Provincial Congress authorized the imprisonment 
of these persons and some were sent to the Pough- 
keepsie jail. The weeding out of Tories was evidently 
well started, but the following communication seems 
to hint that the Poughkeepsie precinct was not yet to 
be trusted too far. Writing of one Timothy Doughty 
from Rhinebeck, Jan 2y, 1776, Mr. Benson says: 
"Not only from the disatYection of the county, but as 
there will be an election at Poughkeepsie on Tuesday 
next and a vast number of people necessarily assemble, 
we thought it prudent to commit him to the jail in 
Kingston."' 

Preparations for building the two frigates for the 
navy were probabl}- by this time in progress and 
bringing to Poughkeepsie some important visitors. 
The spring of 1776 was fortunately an early one, and 
we learn from a letter written by Robert Erskine to 
George Clinton, dated Feb. 29th,- that six tons of iron 
had been shipped by sloop from New York to New 
Windsor by that time, "to be forwarded from thence, 
by the first opportunity, to Messrs. Samuel Tudor & 
.Vug't Lawrence, Superintendents, to the Shipbuilding 
near Poughkeepsie."' The opportunity came before 
liMig and Mr. Lossing states that lumber was brought 
down the river from Gen. Schuyler's mills at Sara- 
toga about the middle of March, men and materials 
having been forwarded from New York still earlier. 
The reference in the letter above quoted to the 
"Ship-building near Poughkeepsie," together with a 
comparison of maps shows pretty conclusively that the 
Continental ship-yard was on the Livingston property 
just south of the town. There was a ship-yard in that 
neighborhood before the Revolution, and "Ship-yard 
Point" was carried on all the early maps well down 
into the 19th Century as the name of what we now 
call Fox's Point. In 1800 also there was a division 
among the heirs of Henry Livingston of the"Ship- 
yard Property," a map of which is on file. Smith's 
History of the county, however, says that the "Conti- 
nental navy yard was on the site of the late Edward 
Southwick's tannery, near the Lower Landing." 
Sloops and schooners, as will appear, were built in the 
latter neighborhood after 1800, but I have seen no 
evidence that any such work was done there during 

'.\nieric:in Archives, Vol. IV, p. 1 1 18. 

2 Public Papers of George Clinton, Vol. I, p. 226. 



r 



40 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIB 



the Revolution, thmish there was considerable boat 
bniklins: of various kinds here during tlie war. and it 
may not have been confined to one locality. 

General Washington himself ordered that fire rafts 
should be built at I'oughkeepsie early in the summer 
of 1776 and it appears from letters of Jacobus \'an 
Zandt, of the secret committee then in session here. 
that at least fourteen such craft were launched in 
July. (Clinton Papers. \'ol. I. pp. 254 and 275.) 

The theatre of war had now been shifted from 
New England to New N'ork. a P.ritish fleet was in 
possession of the harbor and a British army was 
gathering on Staten Island : the Declaration of In- 
dependence had been signed and accepted, and the 
Colony or Province of New York had become a State. 
The Convention, successor of the Provincial Congress, 
sent John Jay with five others to Poughkeepsie, "to 
devise and carry into execution such measures as to 
them shall appear most effectual for obstructing the 
channel of Hudson's River or annoying the enemy's 
ships." This committee "held its first meeting at the 
house of Mr. Van Kleeck in Poughkeepsie." accord- 
ing to Pellew's Life of John Jay (page 62), "and at 
once sent Jay to the Salisbury Iron Works in Con- 
necticut for cannon and shot," which he at length 
obtained.' 

The critical i)erio(l of tlie Revolution was be- 
ginning and all depended upon holding the Hud- 
son. Poughkee])sie became the centre of the develop- 
ment of plans for defense and besides the fire rafts 
above mentioned old sloops w-cre rigged up to be sunk 
for oi)structing the channel, and an immense iron 
chain, which had been used in an attempt to keep Brit- 
ish vessels out of Lake ChanT]>laiii. was sent down 
from Ticonderoga. Theo])hilus Anthony and other 
blacksmiths in the neighborhood were set to work 
forging additional links to ])iece it out so that il would 
be king enough to reach across the Hudson at Fort 
Montgomery, which had been constructed near the 
lower entrance to the Highlands. 

f)f course when the British began to threaten New 
\<>vk many of the Tories seized the opportunity to 
show their colors, and anticiirating trouble the Pro- 
vincial Congress liad, on June 20th. passed a resolution 
providing for the raising of three companies of 50 
men cadi in Dutdiess and Westchester counties to 
keep tliem in check. Melancthon Smith and John 
IDurlin were apjiointed cajitains of the Dutchess com- 
panies, but it ap|)ears that most of the serious dis- 
aflfcction was in the lower part of the county, now 
Putnam County. When at length the British army 

'I'or his report see Correspondence and Public Papers of 
John Jay. Vol. I. p. 75- 



was strong enough to move to attack General Wash- 
ington, there was great alarm throughout the Hud- 
son river counties. Un the 27th of August, 1776, two 
days after Washington's defeat at the Battle of Long 
Island, the State Convention resolved to call out the 
militia of Westchester, Dutchess, Orange and Ulster 
Counties, but on Sept. 4th there was a report against 
such action on the ground that the militia of the 
four counties did not exceed 3,100, while the "dis- 
armed and disaffected" numbered 2,'300 and the slaves 
2,300. From Dutchess County Col. Swartwout's and 
Col. Morris Graham's regiments were nevertheless in 
the field and took part in the battles at White Plains 
and Harlem. Man}- Tories were arrested during this 
summer and fall and the jail at Poughkeepsie was full. 
Between the hurrying of the defenses of the High- 
lands, the mustering of the troops in response to the 
numerous alarms and the surveillance of the Tories, 
the local committees led a strenuous existence. The 
general expectation was that the British would seek 
to push past the defenses in the Highlands for the 
purpose of destroying the two big frigates building at 
Poughkeepsie, and messengers were constantly dash- 
ing up the Post Road with news that the British ships 
were about to advance or had advanced towards Fort 
Montgomery. Most urgent letters were sent by Gen- 
eral Washington, General Israel Putnam, General 
George Clinton, and the Convention, to induce all 
possible haste in the construction of the war ships and 
the big chain. At the same time the members of the 
Poughkeepsie committee were often without money, 
and at their wit's ends to keep things moving. The 
following letter from their secretary to the Conven- 
tion will serve as an illustration of some of the prob- 
lems at haiul : 

111 (.'oniiiiillee, roughkeepsie .\ug 9, 1776 

Sirs: I'roni tlie [jresenl situation of i)ublick aft'airs, 
the Committee of Poughkeei)sie labor under many 
difficulties for want of cash, as well to answer publick 
accounts already due, which they have become bound 
for. as to answer emergencies of which the following 
are instances : Colonel Clinton wrote us to send him 
a number of boards down to Fort Constitution, to 
make shelter for the troops then ordered there, whidi 
the barracks would not contain. ( )n his request we 
purchased a ([uantity of .\Ir. Child and sent them 
down. ( )n return of the sloop Mr. Child received an 
order on us for the money, which we could not ])ay ; in 
conseijuence of which he returned the order to Colonel 
Clinton, which we are informed remains yet unpaid. 
Colonel Clinton also drew on us to ]);i\- the freight of 
the above boards. 

Major-Gencral Schuyler sent down a party of men 
for stores from the shijjyards. Tlie.se men called on 
us to ])rovide them jirovisions. We have to request 
the honorable the Convention of the State of New 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE 



41 



York would intrust the Committee of Poufjhkeepsie 
with a sum of ukuk'v * * *. 

John Sciik.nck, Secretary. 

The ship carpenters more than once went on strike 
with good reason, for they received scarcely enough 
to buy the barest necessities of life, and worst of all 
were often without rum. In November the ship- 
wrights, who were then getting eight shillings per 
day, declared in a petition' signed by George Peek 
and Robert Hatton that the lowest they would work 
for was "14s per Day & a half Pint Rum" for the 
foreman and "i is per Day & half pint Rum" for each 
of the journey men. The Revolutionary correspond- 
ence shows that rum was quite as necessary in carry- 
ing on war as powder and pork, and gave the com- 
missary officers almost as much concern. 

In spite of all difficulties the work went forward. .\ 
letter- written by John McKesson at Fishkill, Nov. ,^. 
1776, says, "part of the chain went down to the forts 
yesterday," and adds "One of the Frigates at Pough- 
keepsie is to be Launched to-morrow at Eight o'clock 
in the morning." It may be worth while to state here 
that nearly all local historians have confused this 
ebain with the one stretched across the river two 
years later at West Point. The chain which was part- 
ly forged here in 'j6 went to Fort Montgomery (there 
was no fort at West Point at this time), and though 
great things were expected of it there was trouble 
from the first to make it so much as bear its own 
weight. As to the frigates, they were duly launched 
and sent to Rondout Creek for the winter, but were 
not rigged until the summer of 'yy, were never fully 
armed or manned, and never got to sea. as will pres- 
ently a]ipear. 

TiiH Criticm. Yi:.\r. 

It is well to remember that there were two distinct 
periods in the defense of the Hudson, as in the Revolu- 
tion itself — the first ending with the cajiture of the 
lower forts by Sir Henry Clinton, \'aughn's raid to 
Kingston and Hurgoyne's surrender at Saratoga. 
The best writers agree that the Revolution was really 
won on the Hudson River b\- the events of the autumn 
of 1777 — later events were in the nature of holding 
on. though often serious enough, and dei^ending much 
on keeping the British from a .second dash through the 
1 lighlands. 

The critical jieriod began in the s])ring of '~j. and 
from that time until lUirgoyne's surrender the alarms, 
first from the Highlands and afterwards from both 



lA later petition was signed by Piatt Titns and Stephen 
Seaman. — Calendar of Revolutionary Documents, Vol. I. 
^Clinton Papers, Vol. I, p. 412. 



north and south, were almost continuous. The militia 
of Dutchess County was ordered out so often that 
it became very difficult to get the men to respond at 
all when the danger seemed most urgent. They 
were generally sent down to help garrison Fort Mont- 
gomery, Fort Independence or Fort Constitution, or to 
replace some of Putnam's Continentals whom Wash- 
ington needed elsewhere. .As garrison troops the 
militia was almost worthless, especially when farm 
work at home w^as pressing. .April 24th, 1777, the Con- 
vention passed resolutions and appointed a committee 
to enquire why "a great Part of the militia of Dutch- 
ess County have neglected to obey the orders of Gen- 
eral Clinton * * * jq Garrison the forts and 
guard the passes in the Highlands." In May, Egbert 
I'enson and Peter Cantine, Jr.. w-ere in Poughkeepsie 
as a commission to detect conspiracies and were hav- 
ing great difficulty to obtain enough soldiers to guard 
the jail. Richard Snedeker was one of the Tories 
arrested at this time. No enemies at home were to 
be tolerated, for afTairs were becoming very threaten- 
ing. 

,\t first it was believed that I'.urgovne's advance by 
way of Lake Chamjjlain would be checked at Ticon- 
deroga, and when the news of the fall of that strong- 
hold reached Poughkeepsie early in July, the time 
which really tried men's souls had arrived. Had 
General Howe known enough to send an expedition 
up the Hudson then, probably nothing could have 
stopped him. and the colonies would have been eflfect- 
ually divided. How strenuous the efforts of Wash- 
ington were to prevent such a disaster his letters, as 
well as those of George Clinton, Israel Putnam and 
others well .show. There was great relief when it 
was found that the T'ritish general had sailed off to 
attack Philadelphia, .ind Washingtun resolved to 
keep him there, feeling that Putnam and Clinton 
could now look after the lower Hudson and that 
the militia could be depended upon to defeat Bur- 
goync. for they could fight when their homes were 
threatened. Gen. Schnxler at once began making 
most urgent demands for reinforcements and Putnam 
sent Nixon's brigade from the Highlands up the river 
in sloops, ordering out militia to take their places, 
while at the same time a draft of 500 men was made 
ujion the militia of Dutchess and L'lster to march to 
Alban\ under Cols. Graham and Humphrey. "Every 
man that can bear arms must on this occasion be 
brought to the field," wrote Clinton on .August 22nd, 
then just elected the first governor of the state. In 
the meantime, as no attack from below seemed as 
imminent as the danger in the north. Putnam, on 
Aug. I4tli. had .sent two more regiments from the 
Highlands to Gates, who had superseded Schuyler. 



42 



HISTORY OP P O U G H K a n F S I E . 



How nobly the militia of Dutchess responded to the 
draft to go to Albany in this crisis, the most serious 
of the war, may be judged from the following report 
made by Col. Iliiniphrcy to Governor Clinton, Aug. 
28, 1777: 

Hond. Sir — Agreeably to order, I met Colo Graham on 
the fifth instant, and agreed to raise 74 men, on the eighth I 
had the batallion together and drafted the number, and or- 
dered them to appear at Poughkcepsie on the 12th instant, 
and appointed one captain and one lieutenant. Accordingly 
the officers met at Poughkcepsie, and finding a small num- 
ber of men appear, the captain was dissatisfied and resigned 
his commission. I then appointed another captain and sent to 
the several captains of the battalion to muster their drafted 
men ; they sent me word that the chief part of their men were 
gone away or concealed ; I then wrote warrants to each 
captain to send out guards and search for them, and ap- 
pointed them and the caplain to meet and march with as 
many as we could find, and all that would refuse to go, 
send them to the county jail. * * * We raised a bounty of 
nine pounds per man, and have paid twenty-seven the bounty ; 
and several farmers have given thirty pound to men to go 
in their place. On the 26th instant I met them, when forty 
men appeared with the officers, at the house of Capt. Rey- 
nold. The men seemed willing to march, when the captain 
told me he would not march unless he had fifty men ; I went 
out in order to tell the men I would get another captain, and 
order them to be ready to march on the shortest notice ; but 
when they found the officers declined, they dispersed im- 
mediately, and I could not get them together again any more. 
Several of the men have enlisted in the standing fnict-s to 
avoid going to Albany. I do not know what farther to do. 
and shall wait your orders. 

W'lLI.I.XM HUMI-RKV. Colo. 

Tiiis looks like cullit.siuii lictween ofificers and nu'n 
to find every excuse against obeying ordirs, luil it 
appears from Col. Grahnin's letters that |)ait nf 
his regiment was in camj) at \'aii Scliaick's Islaiul 
near .Albany, by the 21st. This was about the dark- 
est period. The news of the liritish defeat at Ilcmiing- 
ton came a few days later anrl then. the reports from 
the north were steadily better, ilurgoyne was lulil 
in check, antl Howe, instead of going to join him, was 
fighting Washington aroimd Philadelphia. However, 
after the 1)attlc of Rrandywine, in Septemlier, Wash- 
inton again drew on Putnam for reinforcements, and 
on the 15th "the whole of the Militia as far north on 
both Sides of tlic River as I'oughkeepsie" was order- 
ed to march immediately to join rutiiam at Pcekskill 
and to strengthen the garrison at I'lut .Montgomery. 

FaI.I. OI' FoKT MoXTC.OMKKV .\.\I) DlCSTKl'CTION oi" 
TTIK FrIC.ATKS. 

It a|)iii;irs that rmly 300 men out of six regiments 
had resi>ondcd' to this urgent call by the 29th. 

'George Clinton papers. Vol. II, p. 340. A postscript to 
orders to Col. Field, Ludinlon, HrinckerhofT. Iliunphrey. 
Sutherland, Freer and Swartwoul. 



The tension had relaxed in the north somewhat but 
alarm was greater in the Highlands. This time it 
was no cry of "Wolf, wolf, when there was no wolf." 
Oct. 4th Gen. James Clinton reported from Fort Mont- 
gomery that the enemy was moving up the river, 
"that the inhabitants at Peekskill are moving away, 
and are in the Utmost Confusion," but still "there is 
very few Militia yet come Down." George Clinton 
hastened to the assistance of his brother. The British 
under Sir Henry Clinton had outwitted Putnam and 
crossed to the west side. On the 6th they broke the 
famous chain, took Fort Montgomery and the river 
was oi)en. George Clinton reported' his defeat on the 
will to Washington and says: 

"I have to add that by some fatality the two Con- 
tinental frigates were lost, the\- having been nrdored 
down by Ck-ncral Putnam to the defense of the chain ; 
but being badly manned, they coidd not be got off in 
time, though I ordered the ship Congress to proceed 
to Fort Constitution [opposite West Point] the dav 
before the attack, lest she should meet with a disaster ; 
and the ship Montgotnery. which lay near the chain, 
having neither anchor nor cables to secure her, it 
lieing the ebb of tide and the wind failing, fell down 
so near the chain, that Cajitain Hodge was constrain- 
ed to set her on fire to prevent her from falling into 
the hands of the enemy. The Congress, unfortunate- 
1\- getting aground on the fiat near Fort Constitution, 
shared the same fate." 

So much for the Iwn fine slii])s hiiilt lu-re. 
Governor Clinton had taken the cables from the Mont- 
gomery and stretched them across the river in front of 
the great chain, a jiiece of utter foolishness which 
ma<le the ship Iu'l|)li-ss. Sir Henry Clinton had 
]irii\eil his superiority to the two .Xnierican Clintons 
and to General Putnam, but his dilatory proceedings 
after he had cai>tm'ed the forts and opened tiie way to 
.Albany lost him all the advantage gained. Xews of 
iUirgoyne's defeat at P)emis Heights reachecl Pough- 
keepsie only a day or two after the fall of Fort Mont- 
gomery and it was of course suiijiosed that Sir Henry 
would iinme<liately advance up the river to Ins aid. 

\'aic.ii.\'s Raid. 

I'litnam had retrealed (o Fishkill aiul ( )ct. Sth 
Clinlnii wrote to the Committee of Safety, "I am this 
moment informed that the eastern militia come in very 
fast : that he is confident that he will .soon have ten 
thou.sand nien with him : in which case he will keeji 
posts as far as Poughkeeiisie and Rynbeck to head the 
em-my should thev ])ush up the river." The alarm 
was now sufficient to stir the militia to action. PeopK' 
began moving back from the river in a great panic. 
Mrs. Clinton had been at Poughkeepsie in charge of 

'Clinton Papers, Vol. II, pp. 380 to 395. 



HISTORY Of POUGHKBEPSIB 



43 



Ikt hmtlKT, Dr. Peter Tappcii. who wrote as follows 
to Col. lino-hes at F islikill : 

i'lisent Valley' about 8 miles Uack of Poiighkecpsie 
Oct'r loth, 1777. 
Sir, I just now Received you' Latter. I have got 
Mrs. Clinton as far as Airs. Parnes Kight miles from 
the River where I hope we may be safe ; However if 
you Should tiiink the Enemy would penetrate Farther 
into the Country we should be glad of a Couple of 
C'overed weagons. I Suppose the Intention of the 
l>".neniy is to go up to Albany and if they can do that, 
will not jwnetrate into the Country as far as this. I 
sent the sloo]) with the Governors affects to Rusopus 
I'.xcepting a little Close and Some of her P)edding. I 
have given Directions they might be Caried into the 
Country there as it was Impossible for me through 
tlic hurry to git them up from Poughkeepsie. T will 
leave the sending of Weagons holel\ to you; if you 
think it necessary you will Send them to this Place. 
If you see the Governor be kind F.nough to let him 
know Mrs. Clinton is as well as Common 

I Remain you humble Ser't 

Pktkr Tappkn. 

The governor himself was on the west side of the 
river ready io march to Kingston via the Wallkill. 
( )n the I2th "An armed Schooner, two Row Gallies 
& a small P>rigg passed the Cheveaux Defrize & are 
ought of Sight up the River," wrote Governor 
Clinton from Little Britain, near New Windsor. The 
chevaux-defrise was a timber crib with sharpened 
points sunk in the river opposite New Windsor to 
Pollipel's Island. It was not entirely finished and the 
I'.ritish had little trouble in passing it. One wonders 
why this little reconnoitering fleet was not badly pep- 
jiered as it went u]) the river but the Governor ex- 
plains. "If we had Round Shott for our 24 IbV we 
might make this small fleet very uneasy in the River 
but this we have not, nor do I know any nearer than 
.Albany to which place I begg you would send for 100 
of that size and 200 for 4 Ib'rs." Hard indeed to do 
much fighting without shot ! Sir James \\'allace was 
in command of this little fleet, which proceeded with 
little opposition as far as Theophilus .Xnthony's (the 
Gill place about three miles below Poughkeepsie). 
where tliey burned the little shop which had helped 
forge the great chain and also burned the mill.= but 

iGeorge Clinton Papers, Vol. 11, p. 4og. 

2This expedition is reported in tlie 1S82 Dutchess County 
History to have hurncd "Van Buren's Mills" evidently a mis- 
print for Van Keuren's. Theophilus .\nthony had purchased 
tlie mill from Mattlicw Van Keuren only a year or two be- 
fore. .\ccordinK to tradition in the Gill family the British 
after burning the mill went to the house and asked for bread. 
No one had remained at home but a slave woman, who had 
iust finished baking and had the kitchen tables covered with 
loaves. These the red coats took and departed satisfied. 



spared the house, which is still standing. They then 
turned back and reported the river clear. 

Already Burgoyne was in a desperate position, 
about to surrender, but it was not until the 15th that 
Sir Henry Clinton started General Vaughn and Sir 
James Wallace up the river with a formidable force. 
There were thirty or forty vessels in this expedition, 
some of them large full rigged ships, doubtless the 
largest fleet that ever navigated this section of the 
Hudson. They passed Poughkeepsie on the after- 
noon of the 15th and anchored for the night just 
above Hyde Park. General Putnam followed on this 
side of the river with a part of his army from Fish- 
kill and Gov. Clinton on the other side. Putnam ap- 
])ears to have been half a day behind the ships, for he 
did not reach Red Hook until after the P.riti.sh had 
landed and burned a number of buildings. He wrote 
on the 1 6th, "Yesterday about forty sail passed up the 
river, crowded with troops, and are at anchor above 
Poughkeepsie — the wind not favoring. We were on 
our march after them when I met the agreeable news 
of Burgoyne's surrender."' This was the day of the 
burning of Kingston, which Clinton w-as unable to 
prevent, though he was there in time and wrote 
General Gates that morning (Oct. l6th), "the En- 
emy's Fleet consisting of upward of thirty Sail an- 
chored last night about six miles below the Landing 
Place at this Town, which they now lie directly op- 
posite and appear to be making dispositions for Land- 
ing."2 

Oct. i8th Putnam wrote to Clinton from "Leroys 
Statsford"3 above Poughkeepsie, at 5 o'clock in the 
morning: "Yours of the 17th Recei'd last night, and 
am sorry to hear of the Enemy Destroying the Several 
Houses &c. Last night I arrived here & all the Troojis 
excepting General Sillimans llrigade which I expect 
will join me in the morning; Colonel Samuel Willis 
with his regiment are about 6 mile a Head, I am just 
setting off and this morning expect to reach the 
Shiping." In a postscript he adds: 

"General Parsons Remains at Peekskill with about 
jooo. Colonels Humphrey's & Brinckerhoff Regi- 
ments of Militia are Left at Fishkill. Colonel Piatt with 
ab't 130 at Poughkeepsie." 

.\t noon the .same day Clinton replied, advising that 
more troops be left at Poughkeepsie and Fishkill. 
"The Enemy." he says, "is 8 or 10 Miles above this 
burning awav * * * j ,-nean at present to 
continue where I am now in front of the most vahi- 
able settlements & were the Stores & Efifects from 

iCutler's Life of Putnam, p. 317- 
sClinton Papers. Vol. IT. p. 444- 

^'Clinton Papers, Vol. II, pp. 469 and 470. Is this Staats- 
bu rgh ? 



44 



HISTORY OF POUGHKUHPSIB 



Kingston are removed. I imagine the Enemy will 
not proceed much higher up the River & that on 
their Return they will attempt to lay waste the Places 
they have passed going up after our Troops are drawn 
from them." In this connection the following letter' 
is of special interest : 



Sir: 



Poughkeepsie, Oct'r 22d, 1777 



I received your E.xcellency's favor of the iSth In- 
stant on yesterday. I have heard nothing of any re- 
inforcements coming from Gen. Putnam. My Corps 
at present consists of about 120 Men. And Col 
Fraer's Regiment by the last returns consisted of 108 
Arms and 63 without arms. I am using my best en- 
deavors to collect all the well affected people who 
have arms, and are not already out, but have no rea- 
son to expect any considerable addition to my pres- 
ent Force. You may rest assured I shall exert myself 
to protect the inhabitants & oppose the Enemy's land- 
ing at this place, as far as the Force I have with me 
will enable me. Your Excellency however must be 
sensible, that with the force here at present, no o])- 
]iosition can be made to purpose should the Enemy 
Land with their whole Force, I submit it therefore 
to your Excellency, whether it would be proper to 
make any further application to Gen. Putnam on the 
subject. 

I have the honor to remain Sir, 
Your very humble servant 

ZlvPH.V Pl.ATT. 

To His Excellency George Clinton. Esqr. at Hurley. 

On the day that Col. Piatt wrote (Oct. 22) Putnam 
was at Red Hook and the enemy had retired at his 
approach to their ships. Putnam feared they might 
attempt to march over to Salisbury, Ct., to destroy 
the iron furnace, which was a great source of supply 
for cannon, but Burgoyne had surrendered, the peojile 
were thoroughly aroused, and militia from Xew Jersey 
were beginning to arrive in considerable numbers 
at Newburgh and New Windsor. X'aughn's return 
might easily be cut off and Putnam had a fair chance 
to defeat him if he should attempt a lung march. 
He turned back and sailed down the river on the 
24th, to the immense relief of the people of Pough- 
keepsie, who doubtless fired a few shots at the ships, 
and received a few in return, both harmless. Col. 
Jacobus Freer is said to have been stationed under 
cover of a thick grove of cedars on the hill just south 
of Kaal Rock, with his regiment or company of 
Dutchess Invincibles,'' According to the County his- 

'Clinton P.ipers, Vol. II, p. 470. 

^Philip H. Smith's History of Dutchess Couuly. The story 
that Richard D.ivis stood on liis wharf and shouted "Ilurrnh 
for King George," and then pointed to James Winans, his 
rival in hnsincss. as a rehel, I hchove may he true. The sliips, 
it is said, fired at Winans or his htiihling and Mrs. William S. 



tories this was on the 15th, when the ships passed up 
the river, but it is not improbable that the firing from 
Freer's men and from Reynolds Hill, of which stories' 
have come down to us, was mostly on the return and 
retreat of the fleet. One shot from the ships struck 
near the old \'assar Brewery on \'assar Street and 
another struck the Livingston Mansion, south of the 
city, where its mark is still visible. It was an iron 
ball siMne four inches in diameter, and is preserved in 
the Washington's Headquarters museum at Newburgh. 

The presence of Putnam's anny in the near neigh- 
borhood undoubtedly prevented any attempt to do ex- 
tensive damage in Poughkeepsie. The wind was so 
light that he was able to keep almost even with the 
ships on their retreat, and the rapidity of his march 
is shown hy the following letter written on the 26th 
by Governor Clinton from Poughkeepsie to Gen. 
Gates ; "The next evening after the fleet left the 
River at Kingston I crossed over on this Side in 
hopes to have mett Genl. Putnam to advise with him 
of the proper Measures to be pursued but unfor- 
tunately found he had inoved down the Da}' before 
with his Army. I rode till midnight in hopes to 
have come up with him at this Place but was again 
disappointed. He had left this about Noon for Fish- 
kill. I then concluded it best to move my small Force 
down to New Windsor & accordingly sent them Or- 
ders yesterday." 

There is one interesting little local record of 
\'aughn's raid, to be found in Book G of Writs and 
Processes in the County Clerk's Office. Both the 
Court of General Sessions and the Court of Common 
Pleas had been suspended for a time after the Decla- 
ration of Independence. The ]May court in 1776 was 
held as usual, then come the following entries : "Oc- 
tober Court 1776 No Court Opened the Judges did 
nut attend." "January Court 1777 the like." "May 
Cimrl 1777 tlie like." Following this is a page of 
writs and jirocesses issued under authority of a resolu- 
tion of the Council of Safety "passed June the 5th 
1777 at Kingston," and tlien on the next page (25<)) 
this record : 

"October 1777 no Court held here |>rincipally Oc- 
casioned by the Enemy Coming up the River with an 
army and fleet and on the sixth of October Took Fort 

Morgan, his granddaughter, tells me that she had often seen 
the marks of the hnllets when a girl. She remeinliers hearing 
that the British sent a boat ashore and liad a conference with 
Davis, hut this seems hardly likely inilcss the shore therc- 
ahonts was left entirely unguarded. Davis appears to have 
remained in business, for in Nov., 1779, he is recorded as 
receipting for goods brought up on a sloop under flag of 
truce. — Clinton Papers, Vol. V, p. 376. 

1 History of Dutchess County (1882), p. 136. 




GOVERNOR OKORCVK CLINTON. 

From portrait in U'asliiiigtoii's Headquarters. XtH'hiirg/i. 
{By lourti-sy ojW't-u'biirg/i Journal.) 



iG 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEBPSIB. 



Montgomery in tlic High Lands and proceeding up the 
River as far as red hook and Burned Kingston in 
Ulster county and diverse Houses Mills Barns &c in 
this County and by reason of the unsettled Condition 
of this state and no Officers of the Court Properly ap- 
pointed there was no Court in January 1778 — l!ut this 
Winter the a*';>'"'>lv <itting: There was a Law passed 



was to become still more than before the centre from 
which such work was directed. Kingston had been 
burned just as the newly formed State Government 
was about to be organized there, and Poughkeepsie 
became the most available place for the State capital. 
Governor Clinton had been in Poughkeepsie frequent- 
Iv before this time, either to vi>;it Dr. 1 '.-<.■'- 'I'oMrn. 




^C^ '^}/yde Orrr^rV '( /r</ X REE .-.u.llx!) V. W. XlVfi^' T. 



VWiv 



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7 



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rihir Clinton in /: 



by the governor Senate and .Assembly that all Courts 
in future Should Sit on Such day as formerly were 
apjHjinted by Ordinance." 

This is not dated but imnu(li,-itil\ prtccdes the 
records of the May Court. 

POUGIIKF.KI'SIK THE St.\TK C.MMT.M, — GoVEUNOK Cl,I.\- 

ton's Residence. 
From the retreat of Vaughn and Wallace begins 
a new period in the Revolutionary history of the 
Hudson River and of Poughkeepsie. The British 
abandoned all they had gained, but destroyed the cap- 
tured forts in the lower Highlands. New defenses 
had to be planned and constructed, and Poughkeepsie 



liis liiiithiT ill-law. iir to look after the work of con- 
strueliiig the frigates and the various aiipliances for 
iihstructing the river. His first published letter from 
Poughkeepsie is dated January 24th, 1776. .\fter his 
arduous campaigning at the time of \'aughn's raid, he 
spent some time here resting and was joined by the 
Council iif Safety, to which tlie legislative functions 
of government had been hastily intrusted when Kings- 
ton was threatened. Thus Poughkeepsie became the 
seat of government, and after a visit to his home at 
New Windsor the Governor returned here in Decem- 
ber and issued his proclamation to call together the 
scattered legislators as follows : 



HISTORY or POUCH K n n p s i n . 



47 



A Proclamation : 

The Honorable tlie Congress having by sundry 
Resolutions, recommended several im]K)rtant Matters 
to the Consideration of the different States : The Sen- 
ate and Assembly of this State are therefore hereby 
required to meet at Poughkeepsie in Dutchess County, 

• m .Miinda\' the fifth Dav of January next, to proceed 
on IJusiiu'ss; of which all the good I'eople of this 
State are to take Notice, and govern themselves ac- 
cordingly. 

Given under my Hand and Seal at Arms, at Pough- 
keepsie aforesaid, the fifteenth Day of December, in 
the Year of our Ivord. ( )ne thousand seven hundred 

• ind sevent)-seven. 

Geo. Clinton. 
God save the People. 



direct reference to the ICveritt house. Tradition,' 
however, points so strongly to its use for important 
purposes during the Revolution that the State has been 
induced to purchase it and it is now in the custody 
of the D. A. R. and known as the Clinton Museum. 
It is the only house in Poughkee])sie that has survived 
the years with any tradition of association with Revo- 
lutionary leaders, and it is not improbable that Clinton 
did occupy it at some time during his residence here, 
Init that it was the first gubernatorial mansion or the 
principal one in Poughkeepsie is extremely doubtful. 
The little map dated 1790 (see page 65), has the 
Crannell house marked, "Occupied by G. Clinton dur- 
ing the Revolution," and in support of this is the fol- 
lowing docinnent indorsed : 




-*•■ •"*«» 



/A 



CIS " ///(■ h'lsiilt'iiit' ill /'oiii^hkfi'psif of Governor (iivri;r Clinli 



I"rnm this time ('lovcrnor Clinton's letters show 
him to have Iieen living in Poughkeepsie, and there 
has been nnich discussion as to wdiat house or houses 
he occupied. In connection with this subject it is to 
be remembered that a number of prominent Tories 
had already left Poughkeepsie and their property had 
been taken temporarily for the use of patriots. There 
is evidence, either in the Clinton pajiers published by 
the State or in other records, that the State paid for 
re])airs of two difTerent houses in Poughkeepsie on 
(jovernor Clinton's orders. ( )ne of these was the 
Snedeker house and the other the Crannell house, but 
the searches instituted by members of the Daughters 
of the .\merican Revolution have failed to find any 



CiiMain Morlli's Rccfipl for Boards, etc.. for the Rcl^air of thr 
House I'onncrly Belonging to Crannel- 

1780 State of New York to Robt. North Dr. 
Oct 10 for the freight of 600 bricks from Albany 

to Pokeepsie (fi 2 pr Ilhd £ o: 12: o 

for 100 inch bord Co 2 10: 00: o 

Xov'br for 32 floor bords (r? 2 6d 4 : 00 : O 

for 5 plank (if 3 o: 15: o 



ii5: 7: o 

Received of George Clinton, Esqr. Gov'r of the State, sixty 

four Pounds twelve Shillings for the above articles in the new 



iSee article by Tristram Coflin. Esq., in Daily Eagle, Feb. 
-'. 1904- 
-Clinton Papers. Vol. VI, p. 50. 



48 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE 



Emission computed at four for one in Specie being supposed 
the present passing Value, this 23rd July, 1781. 

Robert North. 

Besides this direct evidence for the Crannell house 
it seems entirely natural and probable that Gilbert 
Livingston and Peter Tappen, whose influence was 
locally all powerful, would desire to protect their 
father-in-law's property by assigning it to the govern- 
or as his residence. The Crannell property, further- 
more, was not sold uniler confiscation until 1788, and 
then Livingston ant! Tapi)eu purchased it.' How long 
the house stood after the Revolution I have not 
been able to determine, imr li;i\i- I seen any evidence 
to indicate whether it was built of stone, brick or 
wood, but as Crannell was one of the rich men of the 
day, it is a fair assumption that his house was one of 
the best in town, and for that reason alone likely to 
have been assigned to the governor. The following 
statement of the Tory New York Gazette, July 4th, 
1781, has been held to point to the Everitt house: 

"There is a set of mob legislators met at Pough- 
keepsie ; a little time will show whether they mean to 
expose themselves to all the vengeance of which the 
majority of the late Assembly and Senate live in con- 
stant dread, many of them changing their lodgings 
to elude the search of the avengers of the innocent 
blood they have shed. Mr. Clinton, the titular Gov- 
ernor, has fortified his hut against a sudden surprise, 
and the rebel slaves of I'oughkeepsie guard it every 
night." 

Philip 11. Smith's History of Dutchess County 
interpolates after the word "hut" "the fine stone man- 
sion of Clear Everitt," but on what authority no one 
has been able to determine. Smith's history was pub- 
lished in 1877, and he is said to have had the assist- 
ance of Benson J. Lossing, but I know of no state- 
ment in Lossing's early writings in support of this 
assertion concerning the Everitt house. Assum- 
ing on the evidence of the assessment rolls and 
of traditions, that Everitt was a Tory and was absent, 
there is no doubt that his house was used^ by the 
Revolutionary leaders in some way, for they had need 
of all the buildings they could obtain, as the little town 
was often crowded with distinguished visitors during 
the sessions of the legislature. That Washington and 
Lafayette were entertained there is not improbable. 
The house has been called "The old fort," the "Head- 
quarters house," and the "prison house," with prob- 
ably some reason for all three. The Poughkeepsie 
jail could not have held all the Tory prisoners that 
were sent here at various times, and it was not usual 

'Liber 27 Deeds, p. 129. 

-.\n .let creating a Board of Sequestration to take charge 
of and lease the property of Tories who had left their homes 
was passed in May, 1777. 



to confine well-known and respectable persons in jail 
if it could be avoided. .Ann Lee, the Shaker leader, 
we are told, was confined in the old Van Kleeck house, 
and it is certain that prisoners of similar standing 
were confined in other stone houses in the neighbor- 
hood, though I doubt the statement that the cellar 
of the Everitt house was used as a dungeon. 

Governor Clinton, according to the records, paid 
taxes on property somewhere in the town of Pough- 
keepsie as early as 1778, and is known to have pur- 
chased property here at various times, though most of 
his deeds were not recorded. The i)ropert\' at the 
mouth (jf the Casper Kill in the neighbtjrhoocl still 
known as Clinton Point, was not purchased by him 
until 1804, as papers in Volume 42 of the Clinton 
Mss. in .Albany show. 

GoVIiKNOK Ci.INTON'S LETTERS. 

Several luuidreds of the letters of George Clinton 
were written in Poughkeepsie, but I have found in 
them nothing to indicate w'hat house he occupied. 
They contain much of local interest, however, and 
from them could be constructed a history of the Revo- 
lution, nearly complete, and containing much new 
material. They show, among other things, that 
I'oughkeepsie and Dutchess County were of para- 
mount importance during the second period of the 
war. Dutchess was the only county not at some time 
invaded by the enemy, it paid more taxes than any 
other county, furnished a very large proportion of the 
provisions necessary for the army, and also a large 
number of soldiers. In emergencies Dutchess was the 
main stay of the State. Without its aid, without the 
aid of the sturdy hand of ])atriots in Poughkeepsie, 
it is hard to see how tile Highlands coidd have been 
held, perhaps it is not too nuich to say, how the Revo- 
lution itself could have been won. The difficulties of 
buikling the new fortifications, of finding provisions, 
of raising money, of keeping the army together 
during the years of holding on, were serious 
enough, as will a]>])ear. .\s to the importance of 
Dutchess County the following statement' of taxes 
paid by the counties of the State from the Declaration 
of Independence to Oct. 1st, 1781, is significant: 



Albany 

Dutchess 

IHster 

Orange 

West Chester 

Tryon 

Charlotte 



L 875.720 

1,116,141 

620,008 

280,741 

79.450 

3^450 

3.821 

£3.008,479 



•Clinton Papers, Vol, VII, p. 366. 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 



49 



It must be remembered that New York, Kings, 
Queens, Suffolk, Richmond and a part of Westchester 
Counties were in the possession of the enemy. Char- 
lotte County is now in Vermont and Tryon became 
Montgomery after the war. 

Writing from Poughkecpsie to General Washing- 
ton, December 20th, 1777, Governor Clinton advised 
against attempting to rebuild the forts destroyed by 
the British at the lower entrance to the Highlands, 
and suggested the fortiticatioii of West Point as a 
better location. This suggestion met with approval 
and was acted upon during the next year, Clinton 
doing his utmost to help forward the work. Among 
other things he negotiated for cannon to be cast at 
Salisi)ury, Ct., for West Point. Some of them were 
iiauled in wagons to Poughkeepsie and here fitted with 
carriages. Others were shipped via Rhinebeck. The 
governor was constantly called upon to forward ma- 
terials and provisions, but the great iron chain stretch- 
ed across the river at West I'oint was made by the 
Sterling Iron Works of Orange County under con- 
tract, and Poughkeepsie did no work upon it. Dur- 
ing the winter of '78 he collected provisions also, to 
be sent to Washington's army at Valley Forge. 

From a letter dated March 26th, it appears that 
Kosciuszko, who had been ajipointed to take charge 
of the work at West Point, came first to Poughkeep- 
sie to consult Clinton, who gave him a letter of intro- 
duction to General Parsons stating, "I believe you 
will find him an Ingenous Young Man & disposed to 
do every Thing he can in the most agreeable Manner." 
Lafayette had been here in February on his way to take 
command of the projected "Northern E.xpedition," one 
of Gates's schemes that served only to hamper t!ie 
West Point work and was happily not carried out. 

The legislature, which nul in jan\iary. after the us- 
ual delay in obtaining a i[uoruni, jiassed a number 
of important measures which belong rather to State 
than to local history. Among them may be mentioned 
the resolutions of February 25th, giving the New York 
delegates in Congress authority to ratify the Articles 
of Confederation. 

Clinton remained in Poughkeepsie, as his letters 
show, after the adjournment, .\pril 4th. busy with 
many matters of importance. It has been stated that 
the legislative sessions were held at the old Van 
Kleeck house on Mill Street, but there is every reason 
to believe that they could not have been held else- 
where than at the Court House, or possibly in one of 
the churches. The legislative journals afford no cer- 
tain evidence on this point, but there are a number of 
references to an "Assembly Chamber" and a "Senate 
Chamber." which seem to shut out the churches. The 



Van Kleeck house was too small for anything but 
committee meetings, and the Court House was the 
natural place. It is significant that after it was burn- 
ed in 1785, the legislature did not return here until a 
new building had been finished in 1788, and the rec- 
ords appear to show also that important sessions of 
the courts were not held while the legislature was meet- 
ing here. For instance on the 13th, I4lh, 15th, i6th, 
17th and i8th of April, shortly after the first adjourn- 
ment,' "John Jay Chief Justice of the Supream Court 
of Judicature of the State of New York, John Sloss 
llobart one of the Puisne Judges of the said Court 
and l'*,phraim Paine first Judge of the inferior Court 
of common Pleas for the County of Dutchess" held 
"a Court of Oyer and Terminer and General Goal 
Delivery" at Poughkeepsie. 

Much of the governor's correspondence was about 
the granting of passes to visit New York or about 
the exchange of Tories for adherents of the American 
cause. Sloops frequently plied up and down the river 
under flags of truce, and privileges were occasionally 
abused. A pass to visit in New York was granted 
to William Hmott in November, 1777, which excited 
the suspicion of the local Revolutionary leaders. 
Hmott was pretty well known to be of English sym- 
pathies, though he had taken the oath of allegiance and 
had not followed Bartholomew Crannell and other 
leading members of the English Church into open sup- 
port of the British. November 23d, Peter Tappen and 
Gilbert Livingston wrote to the governor, then at 
New Windsor, stating that he was believed to be "a 
Sly, Crafty, Designing Tory," advising against the 
pass and forwarding a protest signed by Augustiss 
Lawrence, George Peek, And'w Billings, Elihu Mar- 
shall, Stephen Seaman, Robert Hatton, James Prich- 
ard, Stephen Ilendrickson, Sam'l Tuder, Daniel Law- 
rence, Daniel Shaw, Alexd'r Litch Miller, Richard 
Warner, Piatt Titus, Malcom McEuen, Lancaster 
Burling and George Smeart. The pass was revoked. 
Some of the signers of this protest were shipbuilders, 
and they were several times in distress after the com- 
pletion of the frigates. Clinton appealed to the Coun- 
cil of Safety on their behalf and in 1778 they were 
given some work constructing gunboats for the 
defense of the River. 

From several letters it appears that there was a 
strong suspicion that some persons in Dutchess Coun- 
ty were carrying on a contraband business in flour, 
which was much wanted for the army. Clinton and 
Putnam said, in a joint letter to Governor Trumbull 
of Connecticut, "The most exhorbitant Prices given 

iClinton Papers, Vol. Ill, p, 181. 



50 



HISTORY OF P O U G H K E E P S I n . 



for that Article by the People concerned in this Trade 
is alone Presumptive Evidence ajjainst them : their 
sending it from Poughkeepsie by the Way of Norwalk 
for Boston Strengthens the Presumption especially 
from Mills & Stores, as high up the River as Pough- 
keepsie & North of that."* It was believed that much 
of this flour found its way to Long Island and to the 
British in New York. 

In the latter part of April Clinton heard of the 
French alliance, and later in the year 1778 the British 
again concentrated their forces at New York and there 
was another succession of alarms, with mustering 
of militia to the defense of the Highlands. Washing- 



stated that he once spent several weeks here with 
heailquarters in Valentine Baker's house,' afterwards 
known as the Brush house, corner Union and Market 
Streets. This seems improbable, but is not impossible. 
Proof could be found that nearly all the prominent 
Revolutionary leaders visited Poughkeepsie at some 
time during the years of Governor's Clinton's resi- 
dence. John .\dams mentions in his diary a brief 
visit, when he had to ride to Poughkeepsie from Fish- 
kill in order to find ice strong enough for crossing the 
river. Chancellor Kent in his memoirs speaks of the 
benefits he received while in Poughkeepsie from "the 
great )iKii that visiteil there, such as Georare Clinton, 












'•^7 



I T I* J . L>Jt 



j-iloi iftlikc Morc'y, 
U rtitf'itJte'Of i>}t\ 



- . .. %^ 

to be oqi^jp }fi^Ji'->;' '^t/'Mr^ 

t^'. I'uute of the. mi.iuSjj;'^ 

L^y, Mi) L-; .1..1.U 17.: ,^ ^,. ^, ,(J.-^ ;g 

■ ' ! Ifticrvo av 6, N. HJiiA-MAN. 



4^> 



>'HOTO HV O. re. KKAMAX. 

t Hn^/fr^ _.>r>^t ,frt^ ,fr)'^ .r'T^ t< 



ii^JGsie^ 



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^LLri'ii-Kj. 



iittv: 



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■^■0 









/•'tif-siiiii/i- 0/ stale Ciirniuy, priiiltd hyjo/ni //oil in /'oiin^/ikicpsic. l'iii;i'iiii in /•iiMiaiiDi 0/ J/ian. (•lilml and (,iv)i;i Juii/r. 



ton moved his headquarters to Peckskill and his army 
formed its long line from there across New Jersey, 
a ])osition maintained with little change until the final 
departure in 1781 for Yorktown. Probably during 
this period he sometimes visited Poughkeepsie, the 
State capital, though the first definitely recorded visit 
was on December 27, 1782, according to the minutes 
of the Solomon's Lodge, No. i, of FVee Masons. 
There is also proof that he visited Poughkeepsie in 
May, 1783,2 liis headquarters having then been estab- 
lished for some time at Ncwburgli, and it has been 

•Clinton Papers, Vol. II, p. 501. 

-.Address by Miss Myra L. Avery, Daily Eagle, March 
23, l8g6. 



Washington, Hainiltnn, l,;i\\ reiice, ScJiuyler, Diier, 
Duche," etc. 

The Tory and Indian raids of 1778 occupy much 
of Governor Clinton's correspondence and show how 
small the State of New York was at that time, with 
its frontiers no further west than the Catskill and Slia- 
waiigunk Mountains, through which the treacherous 
enemy roamed at will, striking the settlements most 
unprotected. The luas.sacre of Wyoming, in July, 
greatly stirred the peo])le of Poughkeepsie, for it iiap- 
peued that a considerable number of those who escaped 
the Indian tomahawk fled eastward and found their 
way here. The story of their sufferings was jirintod in 

'Local newspaper article. April 16, 18R4. 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEBPSIB. 



Joint Holt's Journal^ luul was copied in nearly every 
newspaper in the country. Holt had fled from New 
York to Kingston with his printing press in the sum- 
mer of 1776, and set up his establishment in Pough- 
keepsie after Kingston was burned in the fall of 1777. 
lie remained here until the British evacuated New 
York in 1783 and was the official State Printer. Dur- 
ing part of his residence he appears to have lived in the 
neighborhood we now call Arlington. 

There was naturally another round-up of Tories 
in the fall of '78 and also a series of Courts Martial 
to bring the militia to a keener sense of duty. Spe- 
cial arrangements had to be made to provide a suf- 
ficient guard for the Poughkecpsie jail. Writing to 
Sheriff Isaac Nicholl of (>oshen, Orange County in 
November, Governor Clinton says: "We have 
Claudius Smith, Austin Smith and several other Capi- 
tal Oflfenders in Prison here. They are well secured 
with Irons and added to this the Principal people of 
the Place to the Number of thirty have voluntarily 
divided themselves into Parties of six each Night. 
They sit in the Court Room and visit the Prisoners 
every Hour, and mean to continue this Duty until the 
Goal is discharged. Let me therefore recommend 
similar Aleasures to be pursued by the Inhabitants of 
Goshen who I trust have at I,east ecjual Zeal fur the 
public Security." 

A little later than this, according to a reference in 
a Court Alartial report, the neighboring militia were 
divided into classes by lot to furnish a guard for the 
Governor as well as for the jail. Stories of a P)ritish 
attempt to kidnap the Governor are mentioned in his 
correspondence, and had probably already begun to 
occasion api>reliension. 

CONTIXKNTALS IN PoUGIIKEErSIK. 

In the winter of 1778-1779 a regiment of Conti- 
nental troops was quartered in Poughkeepsie by order 
of General Alexander McDougall, commanding in 
the Highlands. The Governor at first vigorously pro- 
tested against this, writing to McDougall, December 
15, 1778, "This little town (now almost the only one 
left us) is already so full of Refugees as to afford 
but very Indifferent Accommodation for the Mem- 
bers of Legislature. * * * The public Offices of the 
State are now fixed at this Place. They cannot easily 
be removed to another & they must be near the 
Legislature." Furthermore he added, "The Forrage 
Masters assisted by the Civil Magistrate, have already 
impressed for the use of the Army, all the Forrage 

ipor statement of some of Holt's troubles as a Publisher, 
and for some of his financial views, see Clinton Papers, Vol. 
V, p. 622. 



the Inhabitants have, leaving them only a very small 
Supplv tu bring through the Winter their own stock." 

McDougall in reply drew a harrowing picture of 
the condition of the troops in the Highlands, two regi- 
ments being still in tents at Fishkill, about four hun- 
dred men in the hospitals and all much pressed for 
subsistence. "The severe weather is fast approach- 
ing. In this state of the Troops and of the Post, I 
was reduced, and still am, to the utmost Difficulty to 
cover them, and to provide them for winter ; when 
I was informed there were Public Pjuildings sufficient 
to cover two hundred men at Poughkeepsie ; Boards 
near it to aid in covering the rest and public Wood Cut 
on the other side. * * * As to billeting or quarter- 
ing the Troops in Houses, I meant no more than bare 
House Room for them a few Days. And if such of the 
inhabitants as can spare it, according to Law, will not 
chearfully give it, when officers and Soldiers are ex- 
posed to most violent Storms of Rain & Snow, they 
<lo not deserve to be free." 

Clinton feared the troops would interfere with the 
Legislature, would appropriate all the fencing for fire 
wootl. etc., but he finally yielded and on the 3d of 
Februar\. when the Regiment, which numbered less 
than two hundred men and officers, was about to 
l)c withdrawn, it is pleasant to find him writing: 

"The Troops stationed at this Place has behaved 
in the most orderly manner & have made themselves 
very agreeable to the Inhabitants & having by inde- 
fatigable Industry re]>aired their Barracks & laid in an 
ample Supply of Firewood their Quarters is become 
verv comfortable & therefore extrcamly loath to 
leave them."' 

One wonders what the public buildings were that 
would cover two hundred men. F.vidently there were 
rough barracks here of some sort, but in all prob- 
ability Christ Church, then unoccupied, was used by 
the troops. Their huts were somewhere on the south 
side of the town. 

The Legislature- held three sessions in Poughkeep- 
sie in 1778 and the winter session of 1779. August 
nth to October 25th. I77<). it met in Kingston; Jan- 
uary 27th to Alarch 14th in .\lbany (for the first time) ; 
April 22nd to July 2nd in Kingston : Sejitember 7th 
to October loth. 1780. in Poughkee])sie : January 17th 
to March 31st. 1781. in Albany, and after that always 
in Poughkeepsie until the end of the war. The State 
officers evidently remained here and the Governor's 
family remained here generally, even when the Legis- 
lature was in session elsewhere, as shown by incidental 
mention in several letters. October 5th, 1779. for in- 

1 Clinton Papers, Vol. IV., p. 542. From this letter it 
appears that four months' pay was due the regiment. 
2See New York State Civil List. 



52 



HISrORY OF PO U G H K E E PS I E. 



stance, Clinton says in a letter to John Jay : "I received 
your favor of the 29th Ultimo on my way from Kings- 
ton to this Place whither I was called by the Indis- 
position of my little Boy, who is so extremely low as 
to leave us but little hope of his Recovery." 

T.AST Ykaks of TiiE Wak — Tin-; Fisiikii.i< Beacons. 

When the British advanced up the river in the 
summer of 1779 and fortified \'erplanck's and Stony 
Points, most of the militia of Dutchess County was in 
the field and the rest was ordered to be ready to march 
to the defense of the Highlantls at a moment's notice. 
The Governor, as Commander-in-Chief of State 
forces, went to the front himself for a time, and on 
his return wrote to John Jay, June 23rd : "(Jii this 
occasion I have the Pleasure to inform you, that the 
Militia, particularly of this County, behave with an 
alacrity and Spirit that does them great honor." He 
nevertheless preserved for posterity a long list of the 
delinquents of some of the regiments. 

It was during this summer that beacons were con- 
structed on the hills south of Fishkill and on Butter 
Hill (Storm King) in order to arouse the country, 
without making it necessary to take the farmers from 
their work until the last minute. The first suggestion 
for this method of signalling to the country north 
of the Highlands w-as contained in letters written 
by General Washingon in March, 1779, to General 
McDougall and to Governor Clinton,' but it appears 
that the plan was not carried out before the middle 
of June. I have seen no evidence in support of the 
statements of Lossing and Smith that beacon fires 
were lighted, or even suggested, in 1777, when Fort 
Montgomery fell and \'aughn started his raid to 
Kingston. •A.fter the gallant storming of Stony 
Point by Wayne in July the danger was over for a 
time, but the beacons were manned in the fall, when 
there was a renewal of alarms. TIuit aiii)cars no 
record that they were ever intcntidnaliy lighted, hut 
the brush pile on the hill near Fishkill (presumably 
Xfjrth lieacon) caught fire accidentally on May 7th, 
1780. and Captain .\braham Williams sent an express 
rider to Poughkeepsie to notify the governor that it 
was not intended for an alarm. Any extraordinary 
gathering of troops and ships at New York was sure 
to produce uneasiness up the Hudson and cause steps 
to be taken for increasing the garrisons at West Point 
and elsewhere in the Highlands. Init early in the win- 
ter of 1779-1780 the British, after making some feints 
up the river to attract attention, sailed away to 
Charleston, and fighting from tliat time was mostly in 
the South. 



■Clinton Papers, Vol IV, p. 636. 



This winter was one of the most severe on record. 
New York Harbor was frozen over for weeks so that 
cavalry and cannon were taken across the ice.' There 
had been a prolonged drought in the fall of '79 and 
it was only with the utmost difficulty that the Conti- 
nental army was supplied with flour. Wheat was 
scarce, prices enonnous, the Continental currency al- 
most worthless, and the mills had no water to grind 
with. Governor Clinton, at Poughkeepsie, was exert- 
ing every effort to collect and forvvard supplies, and his 
services were of inestimable value at this time, when it 
was necessary to enforce the recently passed act for 
impressing wheat from the farmers. He convened the 
purchasing commissaries in Poughkeepsie late in De- 
cember and stirred up the officials and the people, but 
it was scarcely possible to feed the army from day to 
day, to say nothing of accumulating stores to enable 
the garrison at West Point to stand a siege. ( )n Jan. 
6th, Clinton wrote : 

"( )ur present situation is more distressing than 
any Thing we have experienced since the commence- 
ment of the War. It has been w'ith the utmost 
Difficulty notwithstanding the great Exertions of the 
State tliat we have been hitherto able to Feed the 
Troops Stationed at the different Posts in the High- 
lands by a ])recarious Suppl_\- brought in daily. We 
have now near three I'eel Snow on the Ground & 
most of the Mills in the Country either Froze uji or 
without water." 

Certainly the situation was desperate, and the 
soldiers at West Point and elsewhere went frequently 
several days without bread and w-ith scanty rations 
generally, but they pulled through. .\\\ attack upon 
the Highlands was feared again in the summer of 1780. 
when some of the militia were ordered out, ami in 
September came the treason of Benedict .Arnold. 

The spring and early summer of this year was 
an exceedingly busy one for (lovcrnor Clinton. The 
Legislature was in session during all of .May ami 
June at Kingston.'- At the same time Sir John |i>hn- 
son's Tories and Indians were so troublesome th.it 
in the latter part of .May the Governor personally 
took the field against llnin in an expedition to Lake 
George. There were at the .same time reasons why 
he would have liked to spend a little more time at 
home, as we learn from the following paragraph in 
a letter written July I3tli to .Abraham Yates: "Mrs. 

'See letter of General James Pattison to Sir Henry Clin- 
ton. — Clinton P.ipers, Vol. V, p. 448. 

2TI1C session began .\pril 22nd, and was possil)ly called 
to meet in Kingston because of tbe trial in Pongbkeepsie 
of Huddleston, the spy, captured near Yonkcrs. .\ccording 
to Lossing's l'"icld Rook (pp. .183-384'), be was tried, con- 
demned and executed in April, 1780, tbe scaffold being 
erected on Forbus Hill. 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 



53 



Clinton, after waiting till the alarm below and the 
great hurry of Business was over very decently pre- 
sented me with a fine Girl. She joins me in our best 
Respects, your lady and family." 

The Legislature was in session at Poughkeepsie 
when the news of the surrender of Cornwallis at 
Yorktown was received, and both houses with the 
Governor," we are told, ])rocec(led to the Dutch 
Church, and there offered thanksgiving to God for 
the great deliverance. Rev. John II. Livingston, 
then pastor of the Church, afterwards President of 
Rutgers' College, conducted the service. Cannon 
were fired, bon-fires lighted in the streets and there 
was general rejoicing. At that time there were only 

iDutehess County History (1882), p. 142. These state- 
ments are doubtless sul)stantially correct, though I have not 
found their original source. 



two Stores in Poughkeepsie, one kept by Beekman 
Livingston, on the site of the News-Press Building, 
corner of Market and Cannon Streets, and the 
other by Archibald Stewart, adjoining the Dutch 
Church. Stewart, it is said, was a Tory and would 
not illuminate his store. 

We should like to have a contemporary descrip- 
tion of the busy little town at this time, but none 
has been found. De Chastellux, the French traveler, 
passed through Poughkeepsie in the winter of 1780, 
but finding the Legislature in session and "all the 
taverns full" he ])assed on to Pride's Tavern, three 
iriiles north, and had little to say of the town. Farm- 
ing must have been still the chief occupation of the 
people, with tavern keeping, milling and ship building 
engaging the services of a munhcr of men. State 
officials and lawyers added variety. 




Sea/ used oil .Stale Cuiiimisiion, page 45. 



CHAPTER IV. 



From thk Revolution to the Incorporation of the X'ii.i.age, 1783-1799 — James Kent — The First 
Local Newspaper, the " Poughkeepsie Journal" — Ratification ok the Constitution of the 
United States — Early Politics in Town and County — Rival Newspapers — Slavery in Pough- 
keepsie — Town Development and the 1790 Map — Incorporation as a Village. 



When the British troops finally left New York 
City, November 25th, 1783, some of the families 
that had fled to the country returned and the Legis- 
lature began to hold its sessions there in 1784, though 
the State offices apparently remained in Poughkeep- 
sie for a number of years. The resumption of river 
traffic doubtless more than made up for any losses 
to local business. Dutchess was at this time one 
of the largest counties in the State, and its growth 
was continuous and rapid. From 22.404 in 1771 it 
had increased in population to 32.636 in 1786, and in 
1790 became the second county in the State, (with 
Albany first and New York tliird). a ])osition main- 
tained until Putnam' was set oflF in 1812. A con- 
siderable section of central Dutchess, including most 
of the rich Wappingers A^alley. naturally shipped its 
produce to New York by sloops from Poughkeepsie. 
and the three or four crooked roads to the river 
were doubtless often filled with teams waiting their 
turn at the landings during this period. The local 
inn-keepers and shop-keepers profited. Between 1770 
and 1790 the number of hou.ses in the central section 
of Poughkeepsie about doul)lcd (see map jxige 65) and 
there is evidence that this growth was in large part 
after 1783. At the same time much of the prestige 
as a social and legal center, gained during the war. 
remained. A number of the most eminent lawyers in 
the State continued to live here, and many others, like 
Hamilton and Jay, were frequent visitors during 
Court sessions. 

James Kent i.v Pouch kickpsie. 

Here in November, 1781, came James Kent to 
study law in the office of the State .Attorney Gen- 
eral. F.gbcrt Benson, then "the acknowledged leader 
of the New York Bar," and afterwards distinguished 
in several high judicial ]X)sitions. though now chiefly 

iPiitnain'.s population was only about 9,000 at that time. 
For statistics of Dutchess County and the town and city of 
Poughkeepsie, see Appendix. 



remembered because of the greatness of his pupil. 
Kent was admitted to the bar in 1785 and for a few 
months tried unsuccessfully to obtain a foothold in 
Catron.' a hamlet on the outskirts of Dutche.^s 
Count\. where we are told, a committee of citizens 
one day made him a visit, informed him that the peo- 
ple regarded lawyers as destructive of the peace and 
good order of the town, and requested him to leave. 
He soon returned to Poughkeepsie, entered into part- 
nership with Gilbert Livingston, then surrogate, and 
the same year married Elizabeth Bailey, daughter of 
Col. John Bailey, and a sister of Theodorus Bailey, 
who afterwards became a United States Senator and 
was one of the most prominent citizens of the State. 
"I was twenty-one and my wife sixteen when we were 
married," wrote the Chancellor many years later, 
"and that lovely girl has been the idol and solace of 
mv life, and is now with me in my office, unconscious 
that I am writing this al>out her. * * * After board- 
ing a year and a half at my father-in-law's. I had 
purcha.sed and prei>are(l and fitted a snug dwelling 
house in town." His father-in-law lived a little way 
out and was probably the same John Bailey near 
whose house the first Liberty Pole was erected early 
in the Revolution. 

There is much in the Chancellor's Memoirs about 
his early life in Poughkeepsie: "I owned one acre 
of ground and fitted up. in neat style for that day," 
he wrote, "a snug and endearing little cottage, and I 
cultivated an excellent garden, and my income by 
practice did not reach an average above $500 a year. 
* * * I studied in my little cottage mornings and 
devoted an hour to Greek and another to Latin. I 
soon increased it to two for each tongue in the twenty- 
four hours." Indeed the amount of reading he tells 
us he did would fairly stagger the average young 
man of to-day. The snug little cottage and excellent 
garden, to which the great Jurist's inind so often re- 
verted in later years, was located where the Morgan 

'Historv of the nench and B.ir of New York, p 370 



HISTORY OF P O U G H K n E P S I E. 



55 



House now stands, on tlic north side of the Filkin- 
town Road, and a goodly mortgage was necessary 
in its purchase (Liber 4 Mortgages, page 335). He 
retained the property until 1799, when he sold to 
Abraham P.rinckcrhoff. Neither Kent nor his 
brother-in-law, Theodorus Bailey, who lived next 
cast of him, was well enough known in 1790 to be 
named on the niaji of the town made in that 
year, though the two liouses are shown, with Gilbert 
Livingston, Kint's jiartner, marked as living next to 
them. The fact tliat Livingston's office is also marked 
on the map throws some doubt upon the local tradi- 
ticm that Kent's office was in the little building on 
Cannon Street, torn down in iSoi*^. to make room for 
the Hinklcy building. Tlic map furnishes evidence, 
however, that the Caimon Street building was there 
at the time, and it is not at all improbable that Kent 
may have made it his office at a later date. Dr. Peter 
Tappen, of Revolutionary fame, lived not far east of 
the Livingston place — both Livingston and Tappen, it 
will be remembered, on projjcrty given them by their 
father-in-law, Bartholomew Crannell. Opposite Gil- 
bert Livingston lived Major .\ndre\v Billings, also 
of Revolutionary fame and a noted silversmith and 
jeweler. Letters preserved in various collections 
slmw thai Hillings made silver cups or did other 
work for (".nuTal Washington, T<ord .Stirling and 
other prominent Revolutionary leaders. Tie married 
Cornelia Livingston, sister of Kent's ])artner. Nearly 
all the prominent families of the town were related or 
coiuiected with each other by marriage and they must 
have rnjdvod some social advantages. Kent's Mem- 
uirs unl'iirtunatel\ do not describe much of the life 
of the time, and no contemporary letters have been 
found that acM anything of consequence. 

Kent took strong ground in favnr of Jay and 
against the counting in of Clinlmi in the contested 
election nf i-cu. when the vote of several counties 
was thrown mit mi technicalities, and this produced 
so nnich feeling among his Poughkeepsie friends, 
strong partisans of Clinton, including his partner and 
his wife's relatives, as to cause him to remove to New 
York, the climax in the estrangement coming when 
his brother-in-law, Theodorus I'ailey. ran against him 
and beat him for Congress in 1793. He wrote to his 
hrotber. Moss Kent, on March 14th: "Mr. Bailey 
carried his election by a majority of 132 votes. The 
evil reports circulated on the eve of election in the 
newspapers * * * contributed not a little to this 
event, r.esidi-s the influence and exertions of Mr. 
r.ailey and family, of Judge Piatt, the HofTmans, etc. 
in Poughkeepsie were great. That town never gave 
so many votes before, livery elector turned out." 
Kent seems to have cherished no grudges, however. 



for we find him returning to visit the Baileys for si.x 
weeks in the autumn of 1795 to escape an epidemic 
of yellow fever then raging in New York, and in 

1798, on his appointment as a Supreme Court Judge, 
he hoped to be able to live here permanently, and did 
return for a year, selling his house in New York. The 
increasing necessity of "riding the circuits" in the 
central part of the State then caused him to remove 
to .\ll)any, recently made the permanent State capital. 
He first conducted court in Poughkeepsie June 11, 

1799, according to the Oyer and Terminer Records. 
Poughkeepsie has been the home of many brilliant 

lawyers. One of James Kent's own pupils in 1788 
was Smith Thompson, who jiracticed law here for 
several years, and afterwards became Secretary of 
the Navy under President Monroe, and still later 
.\ssociate Justice of the Su|)reme Court of the United 
States. James Tallmadge. Jr.. James Kmott, the 
elder, Cadwallader 1). Colden, Thomas J. Oakley and 
Jonas Piatt' fson of Judge Piatt ) were among young 
men afterwards distinguished in hi.gh office who lived, 
studied law and practiced their profession in Pough- 
kcei)sie at a jieriod only a few years later. 

TiiK Pouch KKi:rsiE Journ.m.. 

From the spring of 1785 Pouglikeepsie had a local 
newspa])er of its own, a successor in a sense to John 
Holt's Journal, though there ajipears to be no definite 
evidence that it made use of his equipment or local 
subscription list. The earliest bound file begins with 
December 22. 1785, and extends into 1787, with many 
numbers missing. Few boimd volumes remain for 
the period before 1806, but many single copies have 
been preserved by local collectors, and a few al.so 
are in the possession of the New York Historical 
Society. 

The first number, so far as is known, is not in 
existence. It is stateil- tli.il the ])a])er began publi- 
cation April nth, 1785. but if that date is correct, 
it was not at first issued every week. Xo. 10. dated 
October 13th, is in good preservation in the Adriance 
Memorial Library in this oil\ . ft contains the open- 
ing announcement, which ii.id (irohably been kept 
standing since the first number, as follows: 

To The Punr.ic. 

The Sul)scriber, being encouraged by a num- 
erous collection of the Inhabitants of Dutchess 
County, has set up, and established a Printing 
Office in this town, where he publishes this Pa- 
per once a Week every Thursday morning; and 



'Jonas Piatt afterwards settled near Utica. He marrici! 
Helen, one of the d.itigbtcrs of Henry Livingston. 
■-Dutchess County History (1882), p. 401. 



56 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIB. 



takes in Subscriptions at the low price of Four- 
teen Shillinirs a year, one Dollar to be paid at the 
Time of subscribing, or an equivalent in any kind 
of Grain, and the remaining Six Shillings at the 
end of the year. The price given by the mer- 
chants in this place will be allowed. 

He returns his sincere thanks to those Gentle- 
men who have already shown their Willingness to 
su]iport this useful and beneficial L'ndertaking, 
and flatters himself that his steaily Attention to 
Business, and luideavours to give general Satis- 
faction to the Public, (being a young Beginner) 
will lead the Generous to give him every En- 
couragement in their Power — .\nd while he 
solicits the Assistance of the learned, for the 
Favour of iniblishing their Productions, either 
useful iir entertaining assures them this Paper 
shall neither be a Conveyance of Scandal or per- 
sonal Abuse. 

.Any Essays, Articles of Intelligence, Adver- 
tisements, &c., will be gratefully received by 
Tile Public's devoted 
\'ery humble servant 
N. Power. 

Tlie paper at this time was called The Country 
Journal and Poughkcct>slc Advertiser and it was 
printed "a few doors east of the court house." By 
ijcji' it had become simply The Poughkccf'sic Jour- 
nal and in all probability the long title had been drop- 
ped before this time. Kent calls it the Poughheepsic 
Journal in his memoirs and tells us that he started to 
])ublish in it an abstract of The Federalist when the 
constitution was under discussion in 1787 and 1788. 
He states that it was the only newspaper published in 
New York State, outside of New York and Albany, at 
tlie time of the Constitutional Convention. In 1792, its 
editor. Nicholas Power, became the first Poughkeepsie 
postmaster, according to the ofiicial records in Wash- 
inton, and later issues of the ])aper bear the line 
"Publishe<l at the Post Office." The location of the 
office was on the north side of Main Street, ncit 
far above \'an Kleeck's^ hat store. 

In calling the Journal the first local newsjiaper, I 
must not I)e understood as implying that it published 
local news. Few newspapers, even in the largest 
.\iuerican cities, did that until a much later period, 
with the exception of an occasional report of a fire, 
a Fourth of July celebration, or a public meeting of 
im]iortaiice. The news was mostly from Europe by 
sailing vessel a month or two late. One may study 
the French Revolution and the campaigns of Napo- 
leon's armies from the columns of the Poughkeepsie 
Journal and may get an excellent summary of the 

'Copies for Dec. 22, 1791, and May 22, 1798, in the collec- 
tion of Tristram Coffin. Esq. Nov. 16, 1796. Aug. 8, 7797, 
Nov. 6, 1804, niid March, 12, 1805, in City Library. 

2 Sec Chap. V. 



debates in Congress, but there is little about Pough- 
keepsie except in the advertisements. An exception 
is found in the jiaper of Dec. 22, 1785, which contains 
the following: "Saturday last sailed from hence the 
Sloop Dolphin, Captain Christopher Hughes, belong- 
ing to this place, with 37 horses &c. on board. And 
on Sunday sailed the Sloop Sally, Capt. Clark, belong- 
ing to Claverack, with 20 horses, both bound to the 
West Indies." From this and from many advertise- 
ments of stallions it appears that Dutchess county was 
largely engaged in raising horses. One of the papers 
in 1798 has nearly a page of stallion advertisements. 

Occasionally also there is news in the laws pub- 
lished. On the 4th of .\pril. 1785, an act was passed 
by the legislature giving Isaac \'an Wyck, Tallmadge 
Hall and John Kinney "an exclusive right of keeping 
Stage-\\'aggons on the East Side of Hudson's River 
between the cities of New York and Albany for the 
term of ten years." They were required to provide 
"at least two good and sufficient stage waggons, to be 
drawn each by four able horses" * * * and 
the fare "shall not exceed four-pence per mile includ- 
ing the liberty of carrying fourteen pounds of bag- 
gage, * * * and such stage waggon or wag- 
gons shall i)roceed at least once in every week." 

In March. 1798, the Journal proposed the establi.sh- 
nient of a literary weekly "to contain sixteen pages 
octavo" and to be called The Rural Casket. • The 
subscription price was fixed at $2.50 a year, and no 
advertisements were to be admitted, "as this work is 
intended to combine the flowers of fancy with the 
fruits of judgment, and designed alone to please and 
improve." The Journal of May 22nd. announced that 
tlu- first number would be issued "on Tuesday, the 
5tli of June next." It ])rol)al)l\- did not last very 
long. biU its inihlicatiiMi was cluiracleristic of the 
ambitiiins of Ihe times. 

1\ ATii'u A'l'ioN (II-- Tin: Constitution oi- riii'. I'NiTi-n 
St.\ti:s. 

The Court House in which the I.egi.-latuve had so 
nftru held its sessions during the Revolution w.is burn- 
ed early in 1785, the date being nearly fixeil by a law 
passed .April 4th, giving the sheriff (Harmon Iloflf- 
man) authority to "imiirison and confine certain debt- 
ors and crituinals in the Goal of I'lster County" be- 
cause of the destruction of the Dutchess County jail. 
The records of the I'oard of Supervi.sors contain much 
,il)(iut the building of the new Court House and show 
tli.il it was finished sufficiently for occupancy by the 
riid (if 17(^7. and in Jatniary, 1788, we find the Legi.s- 
latiire returning to hold its winter session here after 
a long ab.sence. That session was imdoubtedly held 



HISTORY or P O U G H K E E P S I E . 



in the iK'w Court TToiisf and it was there that the itro- 
posed new Constitution for the United States was sub- 
mitted to the members for their action. Governor 
Chnton had fjone to New York to hve in 17S4, liut he 
may have retained a residence in Poughkeepsie. At 
any rate some of the .'^tate officers liad remained lierc 
until at least 1788 and i)robably the statement made by 
iHiison |. l.ossini;- (letter published in Daily Eagle, 
I'eli. iS, iXSS). that I 'oughkeei)sie was still the State 
cajjital is substantially true. 

Governor Clinton was so strongly opposed to the 
new constitution that in laying it before the Legisla- 
ture he made no reference to it whatever, and would 
liave preferred to have it ignored by the members. 
Egbert iienson, of Poughkeepsie, was one of the lead- 
ers of the fight in favor of calling a convention to con- 
sider tlie question of ratification, but the opposition of 
tile Governor and his friends was so strong that the 
resolution passed by a majority of only two votes. 

The convention thus Called to meet at "'the court 
liou.se in Poughkeepsie" on June 17th, was the one con- 
spicuous histurical v\\u\ tli.il has taken place here, 
and the only event of which there has been a local 
centennial celebration. .Much interesting information 
about its deliberations, and the causes which led to the 
formation of the Constitution at Philadelphia, as well 
;is to its taril\ ratification at Poughkeepsie, may l)e 
olilaincd froni the address dt'livered at the Centennial, 
July _'(itli, 1888. by .Mr. John 1. Piatt, and also from 
an address delivered a few years later by Rev. A. P. 
\ an Gie.son. O. 1)., and ])ublished in pamijhlet form. 
Mr. Eossing in his Field Book of the Revolution 
stated that the convention met in the old Van Kleeck 
house, but in a later edition corrected this statement. 
There still remained, however, .some doubt as to the 
|)lace of meeting: Dr. \'an Gie.son, therefore, examin- 
ed all the evidence and showed conclusively that the 
Coiut House was the place. 

The period immediately ])receding the formation 
of the Constitution has lieen called "The Critical Period 
of American History" by John Fisk, and the import- 
ance of the ratification by the State of New York at 
the Poughkee])sic convention has not been exagger- 
ated, except ])ossibly by Martha J. Lamb, who says in 
her History of Xew' York (page 321, vol. 2), "This 
turned the pivot in the history of the English speaking 
race." The critical period, as we have seen from 
Governor Clinton's own letters written in Poughkeep- 
sie, w'as beginning in the severe winter of 1 779-1 780, 
when the Continental currency would no longer pur- 
chase provisions for the army and when it became 
necessary to seize the wheat and other i)roduce of 
the farmers under impress warrants in order to keep 



the arm) together. During some of the first efforts 
to obtain a better form of government, insuring a 
steady revenue. Governor Clinton was favorable to in- 
creased national powers, but he nevertheless became 
"the bitterest hater of the Constitution that could be 
found anywhere in the thirteen states." In explana- 
tion of his change of opinion, it nnist be remembered 
that after the w-ar the relative position of the State of 
Xew York began to change until it soon became ap- 
parent that the revenue of her unsurpassed sea-])ort 
would afford ample means for the payment of her 
own debts and if shared with the other states would 
contribute largely to the payment of their debts. 
George Clinton was not quite great enough to view the 
situation from a national standpoint, and his chief ob- 
jection to the Constitution was against surrendering 
this revenue. 

It has been generally conceded that all the Dutch- 
ess County delegates to the convention were chosen as 
opponents of the Constitution, but one may question 
whether they were not so classed largely because they 
were friends, and some of them former neighbors of 
the governor. Egbert Benson represented this district 
in the .Assembly which met in January and was a lead- 
ing champion of the Constitution, as already staled. 
James Kent was elected to the legislature as a Federal- 
ist only two years later. The people of the neighbor- 
hood of Poughkeepsie were at least open to conviction 
as to the merits of the Constitution and there is no 
evidence that they were not entirely satisfied with the 
votes of their representatives, Melanclhon v*>niiiii, 
Zephaniah Piatt and Cjilbert Livingston, in its favor. 
These w'ere able men who had served in many positions 
during the Revolution, as we have seen in the last 
cha])ter. and continued to serve in high positions after 
the Constitution had been adojited. All three had been 
members of the Provincial Congress. .Melancthon 
Snn'th and Zephaniah Plait had been members 
of the Continental Congress. Smith was the first 
sheriff of the county after the formation of the State 
government, Piatt was at the time of the convention 
the county judge and Livingston the surrogate. Smith 
had been a resident of Poughkeeiisie most of the time 
since 1777, but is said to have been living in Xew 
York when cho.sen a delegate to the convention. This 
is not singular when we remember that Governor 
Clinton himself sat as a delegate from Ulster. 

The elections of delegates for the convention 
throughout the State turned out "beyond expectation 
favorable to the .Anti-Federal party. They have a ma- 
jority of two thirds in the Convention, and according 
to the best estimate I can form of about four sevenths 
in the comnnmitv." wrote Hamilton to Ara<lison on 



58 



HISTORY OF P O U G H K E II P S I E. 



June 8th.' Un iIk- Jist Jolin Jay- wrote to his wife as 
follows, from l'uiighkcei)sio : 

My dear Sally 

A gentleman now in town, and who will set out for New- 
York in about an hour, gives me an opportunity for writing 
you a few lines. The convention assembled with unusual 
punctuality. There are not more than two members that J 
can recollect absent, and the house has entered in the business 
with great assiduity and regularity. .\s yet these proceedings 
and debates have been temperate and inoffensive to either 
party. The opposition to the proposed constitution appears 
formidable, though more so from numbers than from other 
considerations. What the event will be is uncertain. For 
my part I do not despair on the one hand, although I see 
much room for apprehension on the other. 

On the 19th, H. Knox wrote to Riifus King."- still 
a resident of Boston : 

The majority of the .\.ntis is so great at Pough- 
koepsie that I ask no questions. Some person com- 
l)elle(l me to hear that Gov. Clinton was chosen presi- 
dent on Tuesday. 51 memlvrs present. 

The Antis, however, had made a serious mistake 
in postponing action upon the Constitution so long. 
Eight states liad already ratified when the convention 
met on June 17th, and only one more was needed to 
bring the new government into being. Alexander 
Hamilton and the Federalist leaders were shrewd 
enough to take everv advantage of the strength that 
would come from the news of ratification by New 
Hampshire or \'irginia. where the conventions were 
also in session. Haiuilton had written to Madison, May 
lyth, ".\s Clinton is truly the leader of his party and is 
inflexibly obstinate. I count little on overcoming op- 
position by reason. Our only chance will be the pre- 
vious ratification by nine states which may shake the 
firmness of his followers, and a change in the senti- 
ments of the people, which have for some time been 
traveling toward the Constitution." New Hampshire 
was known to be favorable to the Constitution and 
Hamilton had arranged that express riders should 
bring the news of its ratification to l'()ughkeei)sie at 
the earliest possible moment. The horseman with the 
expected news came galloping into town on the 24th 
of June, and on the 30th John Jay wrote to General 
Washington, "The greater ntimber are, I believe, ad- 
verse to a vote of rejection. Some would be content 
with recommendatory amendments ; others wish for 
exi)laiialory ones. ••' * * and 1 am much mis- 
taken if there are not a few who i)refer a sejiaration 
from the L'nion to any national government whatever. 
♦ ♦ ♦ The people, however, are gradually com- 

• Works of Hamilton, Vol. I, p. 454. 

-Jay Papers, Vol. Ill, p. 340. Of the 63 delegates 21 were 
classed as for ratification and 44 against, — Memoirs of James 
Kent, p. 303. 

•■•Life and Correspondence of Rufns King, Vol. I. p. 335. 



ing right, notwilhslanding the singular means taken 
to prevent it. The accession of New Hampshire 
does good and that of X'irginia would do more." 
Isaac Roosevelt.' one of the New York City delegates, 
wrote to Hon. Richard X'arick of New York, July ist: 

"1 wish it was in my power to iiilorin you that 
our Convention hail agreed to adopt the Cunstilulion 
or even what the probable event will be. Our oppo- 
nents keep themselves nnich at a distance from us, 
and we cannot collect an} of their sentiments, either 
out or in doors, by any means whatever. 

In our discussion on the Constitution we have got 
only to the 8th Section of the first Article. The time 
is mostly taken up in reasoning on the impropriety 
of their proposed amendments. 

1 now only can suggest that the event of \irginia 
may influence their determination. Should they re- 
ject, 1 think it probable our Convention will, but 
should the) adojjt I am not clear ours will. They may 
projjose an adjournment to collect the sense of their 
res])ective constitutents." 

Governor Clinton was evideutl) afraid his sup- 
porters were weakening, but .Melanclhon Siuith de- 
clared that the change of circumstances made no 
change in his views. He was the "anti-chami>ion" in 
debate, adding "the subtclty of Locke to the candour of 
Sydney." in the words of one who described the con- 
vention in a letter published in the New York Journal, 
}u\\ 4th, 1788. The doors of the convention were 
o])en and the people of Pouglikee|isie availed them- 
selves of the opportunity tn luar the great s]ieakers. 
Hamilton was described as the "the political porcu- 
pine, armed at all points." and jjouring a "stre.im of 
eloc|iience deep as the Ganges and irresistible as the 
Gadara(|ui. ' Mr. Jay's reasoning was said to be as 
"weighty as gold, polished as silver, and strong as 
steel." Chancellor Livingston was also a strong in- 
fluence for the Constitution. The weight of eloquetice 
and logic was certainly with the Federalists, and the 
debates as published- are good reading to-day. The 
very extravagance of the .\ntis, who described the Con- 
stitution as a "triijal-headed monsti-r" and said that 
"'i"lu- (laggiT iif ainhition is unw pninU'd at the fair bo- 
som of lil)erty," with much else of the same .si>rl, was 
l)robably beginning to react. Jtine 27th Hamilton wrote 
to Madi.son that "there are some slight ho])es of relax- 
ation in soiue of the leaders, which authorizes a gleam 
of hope, if you do well, but certainl\ I think not dther- 
wise." At this very moment a Utter was mt its w.iy 
from Richmond, coming as fast as horses Cdiild, 
bringing the news that X'irginia had done well. I'.en 

'Great grandfatlier of Mr. John A. Roosevelt (who has 
the letter quoted), and a brother of the great grandfather 
of President Roosevelt. 

2Fac-simile, 1905, by Vassar Brothers' Institute. 



// / s r o R y OF p o u c ii k n n r s i n . 



59 



son j. I.iissinLif has puhlislu'il tlir follnwiiii; interview' 
willi line will I wa?- iin-sint wlu'n tlu' news arrived: 

"It was ahont noon, on a very Imt ila\ ," said the 
old man, "when I saw an express rider, on a power- 
ful bay horse tlecked with foam, dismount at the 
Court House door and placiiiij- his bridle reins in the 
liands of a negro boy standing by. hasten to the dour 
of the Convention chamber, and deliver a scaled pack- 
age to Mr. liarclay. the door-keeper. The courier was 
Colonel William Smith l,i\'ingston, who had ridden 
exi)ress (changing horses several times) from New 
York City to I'oughkeepsie. a distance of eighty-one 
miles, in less than ten hours. The package he brought 
contained a despatch from the {'resident of the \ ir- 
ginia Convention at Richmond and a letter from Mad- 
ison to 1 lamilton, announcing that \ irginia had. on the 
25th day of June, unconditionally ratified the constitu- 
tion. The reading of that despatch gave great joy 
to the Federalists in the Convention, and they cheered 
loudly. .Many pi-ople out of curiosity had gathered 
in front of the Court lluuse after the arrival of the 
ct)urier, and when his errand was made known, a i)art 
of them formed a little procession, and led by llie 
music of a fife and drum, marched around the Court 
House .several times, in the evening they lighted a 
small bonfire. I'efore sunset Power had printed an 
'Extra' on a sheet of jiaper se\eu b\ ten inches in 
size which contained tlu' form of the ratiticatiun by 
\ irginia." 

'i'he go\'ernor's friemls seem now to have begun to 
see that the Constitution must he ratified, and turneil 
their cfTorts towards its amendment. The celebration 
of the I'ourth of July was a plea.sant relief from (lie 
tension of daily parliamentary battle and served to pro- 
mote good feeling. Joiin jay wrote to his wife on 
the 5th. "^'esterday was ;i d.iy of festivity and both 
parties united in celelirating it. Two tables, but in 
different houses, were spread for the convention, and 
the tun parties mingled at each table and the toasts 
(of which each had coi)ies) were communicated by the 
sound of drum and accomjianied by the discharge of 
artillery." 

In the novel entitletl "Tlic Conqueror" is present- 
eel an imaginary picture of the scenes of the conven- 
tion with the statetnent that there were charming 
wmnen au<l prett\ girls in I'onghkeeijsie then, who 
knew linw to entertain the great men at receptions 
;nid dinner p;irties. Contemjiorary letters are uncom- 
monl\- silent abmU these I'vents. Besides the celebra- 
tion of IndependiMice r)a\- almost the only outside di- 
version John Jav mentions is the following: "Last 
night my sorrel mare was taken out of the stable, and 
I think it is very <louIitfu1 whether I shall see her again. 
I am much obliged to the thief for leaving the horse. 
You sec it miglit have been worse." 

Isaac Roosevelt, writing on the 5th of Jnl\-. omits 
iPoughkeepsie Daily Eagle, Feb. 18, 1888. 



all reference to the 41)1 and outlines to Mr. Varick 
a change of tactics on the part of the friends of the 
Constitution. "We now permit our o])])onents to go on 
with their objections and propose their amendments 
without interruption. When they have gone through 
we may more fully learn their intentions. We have 
now got to the 3rd .\rticle on the Judiciary Depart- 
ment. ' 

Days passed in debate and then, on the 15th of 
July. Melancthon Smith moved for ratification "upon 
Condition" that a new convention of the states be 
called to ]iass amendments. Hamilton at once wrote 
to Madisou. then in .\ew Y'ork attending Congress, 
and recei\ed in reply by e.x])ress messenger a state- 
nunt that any cnii.lilinn would vitiate the ratifica- 
tiiin. The State of New ^'urk nuist either join tlie 
L'nion now already formed or take the responsibility 
of staying out. All felt the gravity of the situation. 
On July 18th, "the convention met. but such w^as the 
deep sense of responsibility that no one offered to 
siieak. Silence prevailed and after a time the House 
adjourned." In New York City news from the con- 
vention was awaited with great anxiety and on the 
J I St an imposing Federalist jiarade was held there 
planned to intiuence "the obstinate body at I'Dugh- 
keei)sie. ' The obstinac}' of some of the opponents of 
the Constitution was gradually breaking down. "The 
members generally assumed a more conciliatory tone," 
wrote James Kent, and what followe<l is well told in 
his own words : 

'The spirit of the House was liberal and cheering, 
and at last Samuel Jones; one of the Anti-Federal 
menibers. h.ail the magnaniuu'ty to move to substitute 
liie wiinls in full confidence' in lieu of the w'Ords 
uiMJu condition.' He was su])ported by Melancthon 
Smith, who had so eminently distinguished himself 
throughout the whole course of the session, and by 
Zepheniah I'latt. then first judge of the Comity of 
Dutchess, who made a few observations expressing 
in a plain, frank manner, his sen.se of duty on that 
occasion and his determination to follow it. The 
members who came o\er from the .\nti-Federal side 
of the house were twelve in numl)er. being four mem- 
bers from the Dutchess, four from Queens, three from 
Suffolk, and one from Washington, and, uniting them- 
selves with the nineteen Federal members from New 
^'ork. ^^'estchcster. Kings ansl Riclimond, they con- 
stituted a majority of tlie Convention. "' 

This does not tell quite the whole story. The 
Jones motion was carried July 25th by a Iiare inajor- 
ity of two votes. 31 to 20 in connnittec of the wliole. 

"^[r. I^ansing then moved." wrote Isaac Roosevelt 
the same day. "that the words sliotdd follow tlie 
ratification, 'Reserving to this State a Right to With- 
1 Letter to Mrs. Hamilton, 1832 — Kent Memoirs, p. 311. 



POGHKEEPSIE* 

July ad, 1788. 

J u s_T A B. a— I— v-c— n 

^Y^EXPRES S, 

The Ratification of the New Conrtitution by tKe 
Convention of the State of Virginia, on Wed- 
nefday the 25th June, by a majority of 10 ; 8S 
agreeing, and 78 dilfenting to its adoption. 



f( ■\T7E ihe DclcKatci of the Peo- 
VV pie ol Viiginij, duly tU&cd 
io Pmluance of ar KcconiineDdalian ol 
thcGcBCial AflTcmbly. and oow mci ia 
CoDTeatioa, hating fulljr and fairly in- 
vcfli^aicdand difcuffcd ihc Procccdiogi 
of the Fcdciil Cunmuinn, «nii htim% 
-fia^MieO'tr m»U u tVi mofl maiuie De- 
libeoioB will enable u* lo drclde (here- 
OD, DO, in the Nttac and on Bckall of 
ihc People of Virf;ioia, deiljce and 
make known, ibii ihe Puwcri granied 
under ibe Confti(ution being deii>ed 
Irom (be People of ihe Uniied Siatci, 
nuy be rcfumed by tbcm whrnloercr 
ihe fame Ihall be peiTcrtcd lo iheit In- 
jury or OppielTion, ^nd ihal every Pow- 
er noi granicd thereby remaint with them 
and at ibcir Will : That thcttfore no 
Right, uf any Deootnination, can be 
cancelled, abridjied, reftrtincd or modi- 
fied by iheCoogieri, by ihc ISeiiaie, 
01 Hcufe of Repicfeniatiret, aAig in 
any Capacity, by the PtcfideDi, or 
any Pcp<riBienloi Officer of the Uulied 
Staler, eicepi ia thofe inftancci where 
!*< wer ii g'tTfn by the CooOiiuiion for 
ihotc Puiptilei : Tbji among other ef- 
fealia[},|Li£lUU tiie'Libenjr ol 4i;on(ci-" 
<ncr, and of the Piefa, cjnnoi be can- 
celled, (bridgrd, rcOrainrd or ni'idiGed 

bj aaj Auiburii/ of >k« UoitsU Stitci i 



With ih' fc Impiefliont, with a folema 
Appeal 10 ihi: Scarchei ol fl ails lor the 
Purity of uui riteniioni, and under the 
Conddioa, (hal tvhj'r>-''ef IiiiprilcAi* 
on) may exilf in the Crnllituiion, ought 
rather to be ejiamixttc: lu die Mod^pte* 
niTGed therein, than lobiD^iihe Uni- 
on into Dinger by U'Ky, with a H 'pe 
ol obtaining Amendmenii picrtuut lo 
■be KaiiBcaiion : 

We the faid Dclee^iei, in the Name 
■ nd in Bchalt ot ihe People ot Virginia, 
do by ihefe preftoti alfcni lo and latily 
ihe CoDlltiution, lecommenlcd on ihe 
I7ih day a( Scptembci, 17I7. by ih* 
Fvdcial ConTeniion lor ih< O «<<nment 
of ihe Uniied States f hereby annouoc* 
ing to all ibofe whom ii may concern; 
ihii ihe faid Cooniiuiioo ii biiding up- 
on ihe faid People, iccotdiog to an au* 
theniic copy hereunto juncxcd, ia (he 
Word* following:" — 

[Heic comet in ihe CoDftilution,] 

A Letter from Ri>.hiiiond «d>i(c^ 
that a Motion for picviuut Amendmenii 
Wit rrjeOed by 4 Majoiity ol Etghl ; 
tut ihaljcmc dayi would be paflcd io 
^onCdeoMg (uUtqucnt Ann-jjAJTCBtV 
and itiefe, it ap|)c.rcd, Itim ihc lempci 
ol the CcaTcntias, wouid b* rccom^ 



EXTRA PPJKTED BY I'OV/EP. AT THE PO'J: 
JOlJPNA'j OFFICE. 

OrU-ir.al jr. ,;.c sse-JSi ov. o' Tdr, ■Jo^n A ?;oo-:evslt. 



liitrro nx O. W. BICA.MAN. 



HISTORY OP P OU G H K li EP S I H . 



61 



draw from the Union if the Constitution is not re- 
vised by General Convention.' * * On this de- 
bates Ensued, which took up the day and it was not 
known how the 'Brittle Blades' would vote, the tak- 
ing of the question was waved till to-morrow." 

Gilbert Livingston had announced that he should 
vote for ratification and it was stated that Hamilton 
closed the debate in a speech of three hours duration. 

There was a majority of three against Lansing's 
last amendment and the final vote on Saturday, the 
j()tli. was liy the same narrow margin, 30 to 27 for un- 
condiliunal ratification, but Kent says that several 
other members would have voted for ratification "but 
could not be brought to desert Governor Clinton who 
remained inflexible. Had he consented to vote for 
the Constitution, the final ratification of it would pro- 
bably have been unanimous." 

It is perhaps not too much to add that Dutchess 
County .saved the day. Kent pays a high tribute to 
the "men who made this memorable and unbought 
sacrifice of prejudice, error and ])ride on the altar 
of patriotism. * * * It was quiie an heroic 
effort to (|uit such a leader as Governor Clinton, and 
such men as Yates and Lansing, who had been mem- 
bers of the General Convention." Dutchess had seven 
delegates, and besides the three mentioned, John De- 
Witt voted for the Constitution. Ezra Thompson was 
absent and Jacobus Swartwout. the doughty colonel 
o| tile Revolutionary Minute Men. with Jonathan 
Akins voted no. There seems to be no evidence that 
those w iio l)roke away from Clinton's boss-shij) on this 
occasion incurred his enmity. Smith stumped the 
State for him in \J')2 when he ran for the sixth time, 
and we have already noted the feelings of Gilbert 
I^ivingston and Judge Piatt when Kent declared that 
Clinton's counting in on that occasion was fraudulent. 

Eari.v Politics of Town a.nh Cor.vrv. 
.\ year after the convention a wave of symjjathy 
for the French Revolution, in which I,afa\elte was an 
carK leader, swept tiver the new Anu-rican Republic, 
and then, as the excesses of the French began to ex- 
cite a reaction among the more conservative, party 
feeling in .\merica was greatly intensified. The 
friends of JeflFerson, embracing most of the Anti- 
Federalists, continued to esjiouse the cau.sc of the 
French, even at the risk of involving the United States 
in another war with England, while the Federalists, 
under Hamilton's lea<lershi]>, came more and more into 
a position of hostility to the French. Governor Clin- 
ton, though he jirevented the fitting out of a French 
))rivateer in New York harbor, was in sympathy with 
their plans and one of his daughters, in 1703, became 
the wife of the notorious French minister, "Citizen 



Genet," who remained in America. It is altogether 
probable that Kent's defeat for Congress in 1793 was 
partly at least due to the French iiartisanship of the 
governor's friends in Poughkeepsie, though the town 
was certainly not entirely carried away by the French 
craze. Men of strong English sympathies, suspected 
of being Tories in the Revolution, were restored 
to favor sufficiently to hold town offices soon after 
the war, and their names continue on the town books. 
Richard Everitt and William Emott, for example, 
were almost continuousl_\- office holders from 178X 
until well into the 19th century. Everitt became town 
clerk in 1795 and Emott a justice of the peace in 1798, 
both offices of much importance at that time. In 
1800 Squire Emott, as he was called, was elected to 
the Assembly. He was the father of the elder James 
Emott, a very prominent Federalist in the early part 
of the 19th century. 

It is difficult to tell much about the politics of 
Poughkeepsie before 1800, except from the few hints 
given by Kent's Memoirs and from items in the few 
copies of the early newspapers. By comparison of 
the.se with the civil list of the State it is evident that 
the county was debatable ground and was drifting 
away from the control of Governor Clinton and his 
friends. The Federalists were likely to win in off 
years and not infrequently elected their Assemblymen 
even when' -Anti-Federalists were sent to Congress. 
Thus the .Assembly delegations of 1794. 1795. I79'i 
and 1797, appear to have been Federal. .All four in- 
clude Jesse Oakley, who is known to have been a 
strong Federalist, and the first three include David 
Pirooks of Poughkeepsie. Theodorus Bailey, however, 
was reelected to Congress in 1795, but David Brooks 
succeeded him in 1797. In 1798 John Jay. Federalist 
candidate for governor, carried the county by a small 
majority, receiving 998 votes to t)C)i for Robert R. 
Livingston. The town of Poughkeepsie voted Living- 
ston 00 and Jay Sj. To comjiletc the see-saw. Theo- 
dorus Bailey was again elected to Congress in 1799. 

It was during this period of ])olitical change and 
probably partly because of it that Zephaniah Piatt.' 
who was succeeded as Judge of the Court of Common 



iThere were three or four f.nmilies of Pl.itls in Dutchess 
County hefore this time. Israel Piatt, who lived in Eastern 
Dutchess, was a captain of one of the militia regiments in 
the Revolution ami was the ancestor of the late Mrs. John 
P. .\clriance. Eliphalct Piatt, who lived near Pleasant 
Valley, was a militia lieutenant in the Revolution, and was 
the grandfather of Isaac Piatt, founder of the Poughkeep- 
sie Eagle, and also of Dr. Eliphalct Pl.itt. first president of 
the village of Rhiueheck. .A John Piatt is also mentioned 
ill tlic records. Israel, l-'liphalet and John were prolialily 
brothers and cousins of /^ephainah. .Ml came from the 
neiglihorliood of Huntington. Long Island, at apparcn>ly 
about the same time. 



62 



// 1 s r o R y OF p o u a n k is n p s i a. 



I'k-as in 1795, by David LJrooks, left Poughkeepsie 
and with his brothers, Dr. Charles Piatt and Nathaniel 
Piatt, went to Lake Chaniplain, whither another 
brother, Daniel Piatt, had preceded them as early 
as 171)2, and founded Plattsburgh. John Bailey, 
father of Theodoras, and probably some other Pough- 
keepsie people, also went tf) Plattsljurgh. 

Rival Newspapers. 

The first rival of the Poughkeepsie Journal seems 
to have been the Republican Journal, started in 
•795 by Nathan Douglas of Danbury, Ct. It 
doubtless represented the party of Jeflferson and 
George Clinton, and indicates that the older Journal. 
though admitting communications of all shades of 
opinion, was already regarded as a Federalist organ. 
I know of only one number of this paper, "X'ol. I, 
No. 41," dated Wednesday, July 6, iJCfG.^ It bore the 
motto : 

"Pliant as Reeds, where streams of Freedom Glide — 
Kirm as the Hills, to stem Oppression's tide." 

and was '"(jrinted and published by Richard \ ander- 
burgh & Co., near the Court House." It contains 
the statement, dated June 2(jth, that Nathan Dmiglas 
had sold the paper to Mr. X'anderburgh "and will 
shortly return to Danbury, Ct.. to cc induct the imli- 
lication of the Farmer's Chronicle." I'niulh of 
July, says this pa])er, "was ushered in liy the firing of 
cannon and the ringing of bells." 'riuri- was a i)aradc 
of the officers of Col. Van Piunschoten's regiment of 
militia. Captain Wmont's light horse and Cai)tain 
Mott's rinemen. Then one company of nun cim- 
veiied at Colonel \'an P.unschoten's for a l)ani|iict 
and another at Captain ITcndrickson's. There is a 
suggestion of partisanshi]) in the separation and in 
the lists of toasts. 

In this paper Nathan M\ers advertised for sale 
a st(jne house "containing two large rooms >in the 
lower floor, on the Post Road leading to .\lbany and 
on the road leading to the upper landing." This must 
have been a near neighbor of the old Van Kleeck 
house. .\n early gazetteer states that iTKJSt of the 
houses in Poughkee))sic were of stone at this time. 

\'anderburgh evidently formed a iiartnership with 
.Nicholas Power and the Republican Journal was ab- 
sorbed by the Pou};hkeepsie Journal, but this partner- 
ship was soon dissolved, as we learn from a notice in 
the issue of Nov. iCk ij'/f. which also contains an 
advertisement (jf a small printing office "with every 
necessity to begin a country newspaper — to l)e sold 
chea]i." Were it not for this adverli.sement 1 should 
think it possible that there had been only one jiaper 

'In the piisscssiun of Mr, I'Vank Van Kleeck. 



all the while, and that Power had sold the Pough- 
keepsie Journal in 1795 and taken it back in 1796, 
the temporary proprietors making a slight change 
in the name and numbering' the issues as if it were 
a new i>aper. 

On January 8, 1798, another newspa])er. The 
Aiuerican Farmer and Dutchess County Advertiser, 
made its appearance, printed by John Woods. It did 
not openly supi)ort Jefferson, and its editor announced 
that he should "endeavor to conduct the paper by the 
line of im])artiality." The French Revoltition seems 
to have been still the leading issue, and the following 
excellent example of early editorial eloquence implies 
that the doings of the French had not hitherto been 
iin]jartiall_\- reported : 

While the Genius of Liberty is yet struggling 
with the Demon of Tyranny and oppression; 
while the blood-stained ste]>s of Slaughter are 
still smoking in the desolated fields of luu'ope ; 
while fell Discortl with her brazen trump is 
sotinding the alarm of Tciir through om- hapjiy 
land where Party Spirit seems assuming the 
garb of General Good ; while Political Frenzy 
ai)i)ears to predominate over each quarter of the 
globe and while the party mind is raised to the 
siniiniit of ex])cctation no one surely can stand 
an indifferent observer of these awful scenes, or 
not wish to be regularly informed of the im- 
portant events which are abotit to clo.se the 
eighteenth and usher in the nineteenth century. 

Isaac Mitchell was the eilitor of this paper for 
a time, and he stateil a few years later- that it failed 
soon after he left it. ( )nly the first copy is known to 
lie in existence. 

Si..\\i;in i.\ Pori',11 Ki:i:i'sii;. 
I'.xery issue of the early newspa])ers contains at 
K'ast one ad\ertisen;ent olTering a reward f>)r the 
reliun of a runaway slavi'. and this one is rather 
surprising : 

1-llli DOLL.IR.S' RFir.lRP. 
Rf.X.WVAY — From the snhscriher, his Xegro man. Gill, 
.iImmU twenty-five years of age, a short stocky felldw; he 
wears a watch, a claret colnnred coal, and brown cloth 
walcli-coat lined with green baize. The aliovc will he paid 
fur confining him in any Goal, and notice given that he may 
lie had with all rcasonahle charges. In 

Rich \Ri' Davis. 
rmighkeepsie. l'\l). 5. 171)8. 

Watches were very much of a luNur> at that time, 
hut there is no intimation in the .idverti.sement 
that this watch was stolen, or was not the rightful 

'The vrilnme and niimher never afford conclusive evidence 
;i>. to (In- origin of a newspaper, and I know of no copies 
of the Poughkeepsie Journal for the early months of 1796. 

-( )peMiiig edilori.il Polilicil liarometer. June S. hSoj. 



H I s r o K y OF p o u G H K n E p s I a. 



6?. 



proi)cTty of tlie slave. A few letters of the period 
before the Revolution indicate that some of the brutal 
features of tiic institution of slavery were to be found 
in this nei^diborhood, but very soon after the Rcvo- 
lutiiiii >la\ery itself bei^'an to fall into disfavor. ( )ne 
or twii (if John Jay's letters as President of the .Manu- 
mission Society were written al)out the time of the 
Constitutional Convention and probably from Pough- 
keepsie. He says that slaves in this section of the 
country were "treated as well as other servants," and 
many stories and traditions are handed down, show- 
ing their frequent devotion to their masters and the 
easy position they held in many families. The convic- 
tion was growing that slavery, no matter what its con- 
ditions, was inconsistent with the expressions in the 
eoiisiiiulion of the riglits of human liberty, and 
manumissions were becoming more common. 

The first recorded manumissions of slaves in New 
York State were made under an act i)asscd February 
jjd, 17S8, at I'oughkcepsie, and the Legislature was 
careful to provide that the persons set free should not 
become town charges. This act. Chapter XL, Laws 
of the l'',leventli Session, declares that: 

"When the owner or owners of any slave under 
fifty years of age, and of sufficient ability to i)rovide 
for himself or herself, shall be disposed to mamuuit 
such slave, he or they shall, previous thereto, pro- 
cure a certificate, signed by the overseers of the poor, 
or the major part of them, of the city, town or place, 
and of two justices of the peace of the county where 
such person or persons shall dwell or reside * * * 
certifying that such slave ajipears to be inider fifty 
vears of age, and of sufficient ability to provide for 
iiimsclf or herself, and shall cause such certificate of 
maiuuuission to be registered ; * * * then it shall 
be lawful * * * to manumit such slave without giv- 
ing or jiroviding any security '' * * and the clerk 
for registering such certificate shall be entitled to two 
shillings and no more." 

In accordance with these provisions former .At- 
torney C.eneral. Isghert I'.enson, registered the first 
Hianuniission in the town of i'oughkeepsie, as follows; 

I'.iiuriil tlii> ninclcciuli day of November 1790 tlie following 
Cniipx nt ilu' ni.imimission of a negro slave i. e. 
We I'cler Tappen & Tunis Tappen two of the trustees of 
the peace for the County of Dutchess and William Emott 
and Willi.ini Terry overseer of the Poor for the town of 
l'ciui;Id<iii)Nie in itic County aforesaid, do hereby Certify, 
ih.il il .ipiu-ar- to u- that Francis a Male Negro Slave of 
l-lglierl I'.enxMi cil' llie Said Town is under the age of fifty 
\ears and of SutVicieut abilities to provide for himself. 

Dated as above. 

I'KTKR T.M'I'EN, 

Trxis T.MM'EN. 

W'lt.l.lAM KmoTT. 

Wu.i.i.vM Terry. 



I the above named Egbert Benson do hereby manumit 
and set at Liberty the above named Francis— dated the day 
and year above mentioned. 

Egbert Be.nson. 

John Frear, 1794. records the .second manumis- 
sion.' "a Negro boy named Bill, aged four years, and 
nine months, being a Son of my Woman Slave named 
Susan." Judge Zephaniah Platt"s application for a 
certificate of maiuimission. the third, begins, "Agree- 
ably to the Republican Spirit of the constitution of our 
coiuitry," 

( )n .March j^th, 1799, was ])assed an act "for the 
gradual abolition of slavery." and April 8th. 1801, an 
act "concerning slaves and servants" provided that 
"Every child born within this state after the fourth 
da\- of -April. 1799. shall be free, hut shall remain 
the servant of the owner of his or her mother * * * 
luitil the age of twenty-eight years, if a boy, and 
twenty-five years, if a girl." This act. as well as that 
of 1799. required the registry of all births of children 
in slavery, under jienalty of five dollars fine, and the 
first person to comjjly with the requirement was Smith 
Thompson,- May 26th, 1800, already a prominent 
lawyer and to begin his jjublic career the same year 
as a member of .\ssembl\'. 

The records of births in the hooks of the town of 
Pouglikeei)sie extend down to 181 5. and the manumis- 
sions down to 1825. Few of the early certificates show 
any family names fur the negroes set free, but 
soon after 1X00 such n.imes were generally given. 
In some cases the n.imes were of the former 
owners, in others, names prohahlx' chosen by 
the negroes themselvi's. .Xbraham .\driance in 
1815 set free a slave named ('.race X'anderbilt. .\ 
few agreeiuents arc recorded similar to the usual 
ai)])renticing articles, sliowing that owners occasion- 
ally leased, or bound out, their slaves for a term of 
years, at the end of whicii, if faithful service had been 
|)erfornied, the slaves were given their freedoiu. and 
a good many slaves were freed by will at tlie death 
of their masters or mistresses. Some of the slaves 
who hati grown nutch attached to the faiuilics in 
which they ha<l been brought up virtually refused to 
accept freedom, and not a few of the older and more 
helpless ones were sui)|Kirted until their death by their 
former owners, who would not allow them to become 
town charges. ( '11 the other hanri there are two or 
three records of young children delivered over to the 
town as ])aui)ers luider the i)rovisions of one of the 
abolition acts. ( )ne record shows that negroes them- 

iFor full list of manumissions recorded, and list of per- 
sons recording births of slaves under act of April 8, iSor, set 
.Appendi.v. 

-Certilicate in fidi iu .\ppeudix. 



64 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 



selves luiglit hold slaves, that of "Toney Fox, a 
black man of the town of Poiiglikeepsie," who received 
a certificate for the manumission "of his wife and 
slave. Mai-i,'aret." October 29th. 1S04. 

It has often been said that slavery was abolished 
in the Northern States because it was unprt)fitable. but 
there is little, if any, local evidence that this was 
true in 1799 or before. Slaves were occasionally 
sent South for sale, indicating a better market there, 
but the results were not always satisfactory. Christ 
Church, for instance, once owned a slave left it by 
will. He proved a very undesirable piece of property 
for a church, ran away into Connecticut, and was 
finally sent to the South where the expenses of his 
sale amounted to more than the proceeds. Steady, 
able-bodied slaves, however, brought fair prices at 
home, if one may judge from the advertisements in 
the early papers, but there seems to have been some 
sentiment against selling them, as indicated by an 
occasional advertisement in which a slave girl is 
offered "partly by her own request." There are also 
a number of curious notices ofTering merely nominal 
rev/ards, as low as two cents, for the return of run- 
aways, as if their owners were merely complying 
with some technicality of the law. 

Town Dkvki.di-.mk.nt. 

.\mong the laws passed by the Legislative session 
of the winter of 1788 at the new Poughkeepsie Court 
I louse were acts for the division of the State into 
counties and the counties into towns. These for the 
most part were merely re-enactments of earlier colo- 
nial laws — the boundaries of the town of Pough- 
keepsie' were the same as of the old precinct of 
Poughkeepsie, — but they were followed here by con- 
siderable activity on the i)art of the town authorities. 
es])ecially in the matter of laying out new roads and 
improving old ones. The first street in Poughkeep- 
sie, as distinguished from the roads that met at the 
Court House or led to the river, was Camion Street. 
It is described in a deed of 1786 as "the new lane or 
Cannon Street." Its name probably came from some 
Revolutionary incident, and tradition has several 
stories to account for it, the most plausil)lc of which 
seems to be that its intersection with the Post Road 
was once marked with old cannons stuck upright in the 
ground. The name, at any rate, was evidently given 
by common consent, before it was ratified by town 
authority. Church Street was also named in the same 
way only a few years later. In 1788 the Town Road 
Commissioners, Peter Tappen and ]'.. \'an lienschoten, 
straightened out the New Hackensack road and car- 
ried branches to the I-'ilkintown road and to the Post 

• Chapter LXIV, Session Laws, March 7, 1788, 



road. These branches became Montgomery Street, 
.Academy Street and Hamilton Street. The main sur- 
vey carries the road through Academy to Cannon 
and down Cannon Street to the Court House. Then 
Academy is extended to Main Street, Church Street 
is laid out and the branches above mentioned. The 
landmarks in surveying Academy Street were ISaltus 
\'aii Klccck's "white house" on the south and Gil- 
bert Livingston's house on the north. Only Cannon 
Street and Church Street are named. 

.\cademy Street was originally a lane' leading to 
\'an Kleeck's "white house," which stood as the 
accompanying map shows, just south of Montgomery 
Street. The street is named "Ragged Lane" on the 
map, but deeds on record show that several efforts 
were made to give it other names, before the Dutchess 
County .Academy was built on the corner of Cannon 
Street in 1791 or 1792. This 1790 map. the original 
of which was long in the possession of the late John 
K. Hull and is now the pro]3erty of Mr. Henry Booth, 
has been the subject of some controversy. It is not 
on record and its genuineness has been disputed by 
those who believe the Everitt House to have been 
Governor George Clinton's residence during the Revo- 
lution. This matter was discussed in the last chapter, 
and it remains only to add that the map is of un- 
doubted genuineness. Reference to deeds recorded in 
I.iher H. p]). 384-386, show that a map was made by 
lKnr\ Livingston. Jr.. dated September 25th, 1790. 
for the inn-jxise of describing and dividing into lots 
the i)ropcrty on Church and Cannon Streets where 
the lots are numbered. The first of these deeds is 
dated November 9. 1791. and is from Thomas Ellison 
and George Ludlow of New York City, "assignees 
and trustees for the creditors of Myndert \'an Kleeck. 
survivor of Leonard \"an Kleeck. and Myndert \'an 
Kleeck." to James P.. Clark of New York, attorney at 
law. I'.y the second deed, dated November 10, the 
same ])n)perty is deeded back to the assignees. The 
lot nunil)ers as referred to in the deeds are not exactly 
the same as in the map here rejjroduced. but the dif- 
ference is trifling. There is one less number on the 
south side of Church Street and two more on the north 
side. Nine lots are conveyed on the. north side, begin- 
ning at the south-east corner of the l)urial ground of 
the Ei)iscopal Church, "being known on above map" 
as lots 9. 10. II. 13. 14. 15, 16. 17. 18 and excepting 
lot No. 12. "commonly called the school house lot." 
The "school hou.se" lot is not numbered in the map as 
here given. It is evidently the same lot now occupied 

Mil deed from I,i-\vis Dn Bois to Myndert Viiti Klecrk 
<'"".^) rtfi-rrcd to .is "the l.inc leading from the farm of 
llic laic Lawrence Van Kleeck, deceased, to the l-'ilkintown 
road."— Lib. 2, 269. 



HISTORY OP r o u G H K E n P S I P. 



65 



by School No. 2, or "The Alexander Hamilton 
School." 

In these deeds also the eastern hmmdry is "I.u.J- 
low Street," not Ragged Lane, which was eviclcntiy 
not acceptable as a name. In the deeds to the 
.\cadetny trustees. May 8th, i/y^. and December 18, 
1792 (Lib. Ji, pp. 466 and 530), the street is called 
"Charles Street," cvidentlv an attempt to name it 



\'an Kleeck's "white house," so often referred 
to, was evidently an imjKjrtant i>lacc. It is described 
in an advertisement which ran for some time in the 
I'oii'^hkccpsic Journal in 1785, as "situated on a very 
])lcasant eminence, within ji quarter of a mile of the 
town of Poughkecpsie, commanding the full view of 
the same. The house being two and a half stories 
high with foiir genteel rooms on a floor, and a com- 



<> 








rf - 






r 




" it t 


i 






f t fr i; 








i n 


»&aM 


a' 


aklkim. 



0- * 



? -^-.x 



«./.-. I'K 







tn)in Dr. (.'harlcs (."moke, wlm had nwned the Int. 
C"rni>kc h;ul rcci'iitly diid anil tlu- pro])erty was sold 
to pa\ his debts. I lis widow very jjroniptly niar- 
ricil W iliiani Ketellas. and the t\r-\ deed, dated .May 
Stli, eoiui'vs lur dower riuiiit to the lot "on which an 
Academy is now erected." 'i"he hiiildiiig could not 
liave liern tiiiislied niucli hel'oiT tiii.^ time, for the 
Acaileniy \\;is ineoi|)oralr(l by the regents in IJiji 
It soon gave the final name to the street. 



inodious cellar under the whole, with good well of 
water, and about si.xtv-two acres of good land, with 
a good meadow and orchard belonging to the same." 
( )ne cannot but suspect that some of the important 
l\e\(ilntionary meetings said to have been held at 
"Mr. \ "an Kleeck's house" nia\- have been held here, 
especially if its Kevolntionary owner was the same 
llaltiis. who refused to sign the pledge of .As.socia- 
tiuii in I77t. .\i an\ rate the number of houses 



0)6 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 



occupied or owned by Van Klcecks in 1790 suggests 
doubt as to the reliability of the traditons which have 
assigned so much Revolutionary importance to the 
oldest, and ])robably the smallest of them all. This 
"white house" property was in part at least situated 
on what had been "The Little Commons' (see map 
p. 31) and was also in part at least the property which 
afterwards came into the possession of Hronson 
French, and then into the possession of Christ 
Church antl other parties as mentioned in Chapter 
\'I. It used to be said that French obtained title 
to nuicli of it simply as a squatter and by pushing 
his fences more anfl more out into the "Common." 
The following advertisement dated July 12. 1802. will 
show that the s<|uatting was done before French's 
time: ' 

The subscriber has returned to town for a few 
days, and offers for sale a number of lots on the Com- 
mon or White House lot. 

N. I?. It has been maliciously asserted that my 
title to this land is not good and sufficient — I invite 
any ])er.son, capable of paying the costs of suit, to 
come forward and publicly declare it. 

Law Ty. \'an Ki.i:i:ck. 

There are many interesting things about the 1790 
map. It will be noticed that what is now called the 
Swift house is among the buildings built between 1770 




/ nor C/iiilcii in //gg. .Xmc l/ir 

/MMihuiii'! A(';. mill A/is. ,1. /'. I <iii (,'iisoii. 

and 171X). on the south side nl Cannon Slrei-l. This 
iiouse is |)articnlarly interesting, as the only one. so 
far as we know, that was ever owne<l by (iovernor 
Cieorge Clinton within the corjxirate limits of Pough- 
kee|)sie. 'i'he lawyers have traced this |)ro|)erty back 
to a mortgage made in 171)2 by William I'ailey. 
merchant, to "the new loan commissioners." and the 
mortgage (\'ol. 2. ]). 325, Loan of 1792) contains 
on its back endor.sements showing that Clinton was 
one of those whu jiaid interest on it. The Clinton ileed 

is not on record but his field 1 k tells of (he |)ur- 

cliase. ()clnber I'lth. 171)'). and llu' npening sentence 



of the entry seems to imply that he owned a part of 
it before William Liailey did, and may possibly have 
built the house himself. The entry is as follows: 

lloisK A.Ni) Lor i.\ PouGHKEEi'sie DuTCHESs County. 

On the lolh day of October 1791 by Indenture of Lease 
and Release conveyed to William Bailey a certain Mes- 
suage or Lot of Land in the Town of Poughkeepsie and — 
Thomas Norton the 30th of March 179J in like manner con- 
veyed to the said VViUiam Bailey one other Messuage or 
Lot adjoining the above and 

W'ilHam Bailey being so seized in Fee of the afore- 
said two Messuages or Lots mortgaged tlic same to the 
Loan Ofiicers of Dutchess County to secure the Payment 
of a certain Sum of Money he had taken on Loan from 
that Office and afterwards to wit. on the 4th day of Fcb- 
ruray 1794 (the said Mortg.age being unredeemed & in full 
force) by Indenture of Release conveyed the said two Mes- 
suages and Lots to Ca<hvallader D. Colden in Fee for con- 
si<Ieration of £625 — and the said Colden and Maria his 
wife executed a Mortgage of the Premises for securing the 
Payment of £525 due to said William Bailey, and on 

The loth November 1796 the said Cadwallader D. Colden 
and Maria his Wife for the Consideration of £800 liy In- 
denture of Release duly made and executed by tlieni con- 
veyed tlie said two Messuages & Lots to James Scott Smith 
Ksquire in Fee Simple. — .\nd the said James Scott Smith 
cm the day of executed a 

Mortgage of the same for securing the Payment nf 
a Debt due from the said James Scott Smith to him as 
will appear by the Register of the same in the Clerks Office 
in said County. 

In the Term of .\pril in the year 1799 John Starks 
Robinson obtained a Judgment in the Supreme Court of Judi- 
cature of the said State against the said James Scott Smith 
for 18564 Dollars & eleven Cents and a Writ of Testatum 
I'icri F.icies was thereupon issued out of the said Court to the 
Slu-riff of Dutchess County who in virtue therei>f (and for 
Want of Goods and Chatties of said Smith to satisfy said 
Judgment) seized the said Messuages and Lots of Land and 
li.iving advertised the same acconling to Law exposed the 
same to sale at public Auction and the said Oeorge Clinton 
l>eing the highest Bidder they were struck off to him ac- 
cordingly and — • 

William RadditT the Sheriff aforesaid by Indenture bear- 
ing dale the 16th day of October 179Q under his Hand and 
seal duly made and executed as Sheriff aforesaid conveyed 
llie s.ime and all the F.state Right Title and Interest of the 
-aid James Scott Smith therein or thereto to the said Ccorge 
Clinton in Fee Simple for the consi<leration of 100 Dollars, 
The said Messuages and Lots, being bounded and described 
as follows, to wit 

.Ml that certain Messuage or House anrl Lut of (".round 
situate lying and being in the Village of Poughkeepsie in 
the Comity nf Dutchess Regiiuiing at the Northeasterly Cor- 
ner of the Lot of Thomas Warner running thence along (be 
said Thomas Warners Lot Southerly one himdred .uid sixty 
live feet. Thence Kasterly one hunilred and one I'V'et lo the 
Southwest Corner of Thomas Mott's Lot— Thence Northerly 
along the said Thomas Mott's Lot one hundred and sixty 
five feet to the street called Caimon Street— Tlience west- 
erly along the said Street to the Place of Beginning— Con- 
l.iining i.ne (|uarler nf an Acre and twenty one Perches 
and seven thirty thirds of a Perch of Land. 



li I Sr O R y O /•■ P O U G H K Li Li F S I Li 



67 



Resides this there are many ])apers in the Clinton 
Manuscripts in Albany (XOl. 42) referring to this 
property and showing tliat there was consideraiile Hti- 
gation over it. CHnton was out of office in 1799. and 
was rather closely associated with several prominent 
residents of Poughkeepsie and Dutchess County in 
real estate and other business matters. It seems likely 
that some tradition would have connected his name 
with the Cannon Street hmise if he had ever lived in 
it, but he was certainly often in Poughkeepsie from 
this time until his election as Nice-President in iSoS. 
He was elected Governor again in 1801 and served 
till 1804, and about at the expiration of his term pur- 
chased of Samuel Pinkney the Casjier Kill farms, 
where be built a house which stood until a few \ears 
ago at wiiat is now called Clinton Point. This house 
he certainl\ ii\ed in at least as a sunuuer residence. 
The deeds for the i)lace are not on record, but the 
consent to sell. November 1st. 1814. is recorded in 
Liber 25 of Deeds, page 66. signed by Elizabeth Tall- 
madge and .Maria Ueekman. ■■(laughters and heirs of 
the late \'iee President C.eorge CliiUon. i",S(|..'" deorge 
Clinton ("lenet. I leiu'v Janus (".enet. Maria Louisa 
(■enet, Charles Alexander C.enet. Cornelia 'P. Genet, 
grandchildren : Ann \ ariek. a devisee of (^.eorge 
Washington Clinton, son of George Clinton, and 
George William l''loyd Clinton (infant), son of 
George W. Clinton. 

It remains to be .said of the Cannon Street iiouse 
that nearly all its known occupants and owners were 
prominent men. Cadwalladcr D. Colden, afterwards 
Mayor of New York, was a law_\er of high standing, 
and a grandson of one of the last Colonial Governors. 
James Scott Smith, whose wealth is shown by the size 
of the judgment against him. was the first president 
of the Village of Poughkeei)sie. The endorsements 
on the back of the mortgage to the loan comiuission- 
ers show that Jeremiah ITagenian paid several install- 
ments of tile interest before (.'linlon's piirebase. 
Smith's ]);i\nu'nts are recorded, but no pa_\inent from 
Colden. This mortgage remained in force until i}; was 
paid by George P.. Evertson in i8i_^. The big chim- 
neys ,ind other features of the house are evidences of 
antiquity, but it seems unlikely that it was built bef>)re 
the street was opened. The interior contains evidence 
that the western section of the house was an addition, 
but made at a very early period, and it is probable that 
the rich men who owned it during the first half of the 
Nineteenth Century changed it considerablv . The 
eastern wing is of course a com])aratively recent addi- 
tion. 

Returning to the 1700 maii. it should be noted that 
Myndert \'an Kleeek lived on the corner of Market 
and Cannon Streets, lie sold in 171/; to Theodorus 



Pailey. whose name appears there on the village map 
made in that year. The William P>ailcy mortgage, 
and George Clinton's field book, describe the Clin- 
ton property as beginning at Thomas Warner's north- 
east corner. Warner had jnirchased, in 1785 (Liber 
10, 319), a lot beginning at the northeast corner of 
Myndert \'an Kleeck's garden fence along ■■the new 
street," and this is the first deed to a lot on the street 

I have seen. As already noted, it was called ■■the 
new lane or Cannon Street," in a deed oi tin- next 
\ear, 1786. ( \'an Kleeck to Melancthon L. Woolsey to 
■■the second lot from the east end thereof".) The 
names Market, Main and Pine Streets are jjerhaps 
later additions to the 171)0 map. Thev ma\ have been 
used at that timi'. but were certainly nut fixetl, for 
Market Street is ealle<l Main on majis and deeds of 
later date. Probablv none of the names had yet been 
given with authority, and it does not appear that any 
of the new^ roads or streets surveyed in 1788 and 
mapped in 1790 were actually worked by th<- town 
authorities before the inoor])oration of the \'illage of 
Poughkee|)sie. .\t any rate 1 have luen unable to 
identify them in the descri|)tions of roads or road 
sections of which pathmasters w'ere ajipointed. These 
in 1798, were as follows: 

I From Court Ilnuse to llalUis I'Vairs Roliert Noxon 

J From Frairs tn .M.ijur l'"orls enchuling the Road 

from Gills to .Amlionys Ellas Travc 

;, I'roin Anthony Hoflfmans to John Wilsons 

Thomas Nelson 

4 loom lolin Wilsons to Bartholcme Gays. .Abraham Pells 

5 from llie House of George Stewart Dcc's'd to the 

old Store enchuling liy Gerret Lansings over the 

fall kill Joseph Bowman 

6 from Court House to James Winans Enehiding the 

Road to the I'ning Store George B. Evcrson 

7 from Samuel Smiths to Richard Davis Store 

Ricliard Davis 
S from .\nthoiiy HolTmans Ivncluding from him to the 

house late of William Rider John Beckwith 

q from the house late of William Riders to Clinton 

line Enehiding to Platts Bridge Elias Delong 

10 from Senioncs house to the medel of the hridge 

at Dinican Engrems Isaac IIotTman 

I I from Engrems stone house to Xatz Brewers En- 

clud Booth Roads to the Crick Peter Burgan 

I J from Engrems to Spacken Kill Elias V. Bcnschoten 

I,? from Myndert Van Kleccks to Clinton Line Enchid 

from T. Frairs to Elias Duhoys John Palmatier 

14 from Casi)er Kill to Mesicrs Bridge Xazarelh Brewer 

15 from Cornelius Brewers to Peter Leroys. Peter I,. Lawsin 

16 from Burlingams to James Welses Caleb Bishop 

17 from Bates to the Hook .\braham Van Wyck 

18 from y-.iw nrummels to Clinton line, near Soles.. 

Evert Pells 

10 from Records to Clinton Line William Davis 

JO from John Vin Andcn tn Theodoris P.ales Enehid- 
ing the road to John Durunis John \'au Andcn 



68 



HISTORY OF POUGHKBEPSIE. 



Jl from narncgat to Lnckcys Land Eiichuling tlic 

Road to Major Forts Fftcr Miller 

jj from Vansccklcs to Pells Mill— Xo path Master Chosen. 

After this year roads were entered in the town 
book only by nunibcrs. It is of course (hfficult to 
identify most of these roads. Nos. i and 2, how- 
ever, are jjjainly the Post Road south, as Major Fort 
lived near the Casper Kill, in the old stone house still 
standiiiff on the east side of the road. No. 14 is 
another section of the Post Road to Wappingers Falls 
(.Mesiers P.ridge). No. 6 is Union Street and No. 7 
Pine Street, Nos. 3, 4 and 5 are perhaps sections of 
the Post Road north, the last including also Mill 
Street. Nos. 8 and 9 may be Main Street, and the 
Filkintown Road, the last (to Piatt's bridge) including 
what is now generally called the Ayrault road. Nos. 
10, II and 12 may be parts of the New llackensack 
road and branches from it. No. 20 seems to include 
Cherry Street, "the road to John llurums." Some of 
the others may be studied out by reference to the ma]) 
made in 1798, (see frontispiece). 

Tin; CiiuRciius. 

The survey of the street leading In the Ivpiscopal 
Church on the Post Road suggests the rettirn of it.- 
members as the prejudices of the Revolution began 
to lessen. The organization of Christ Church had 
never entirely lapsed, for elections of wardens and 
vestrymen were held every Easter Tuesday through- 
out the war. The first rector after the war bore the 
Dutch name of Henry \'an Dyke, who took charge 
of the churches of Fishkill and Poughkeepsic in 1787. 
VtK several \ears the church had a hard struggle and 




LfiiMo/tiil 'l\iisoiiiiiic House." 
/'/ioli)i;iaf>/ii'il igi>/. 

in 17"»7 Trinity C"hmeli nf .\ew \'<\k ;is>isled it with 
a gift of £5(^0 for a ")iarsnnage house." .\ building, 



ti])(Mi which the church had taken a mortgage in 1796. 
opposite the Academy, was ])urchaseil in 1799 and 
is still standing, now u.setl as a blacksmith shop. It 
was at one time the home of the Street family, and 
Mrs. Levi P. Morton is said to have been born in it. 

The Dutch Church, by dissensions over the lan- 
guage question, seems again to have made an opjxir- 
tunity for the Episcopalians or for some one else. 
After having had the very able services of Rev. John 
H. Livingston during the last years of the war it 
remained for seven years without a settled pastor. 
The Dtitch langttage was finally given uji during this 
period and the chtirch was incorporated in 1789. with 
1 lenry liegeman. Peter Tap])en. Isaac Roinine. Juhn 
Frear. Mynderl \'an Kleeck. Henry Livingston. Jr.. 
Abraham Fort and P.enjamin W'estervelt as elders 
and deacons. 

The Presbyterians were not yet strong enough to 
organize permanently, and Methodist circuit riders 
wife ()iil\ just beginning to come into the neighbor- 
he icul. The first recorded Methodist sermon' in 
Poughkee])sie was in 1796. when Rev. Freeborn Gar- 
rettson preached in the Dutch Church. 

Till': First Statk Sciiooi. Monkv. 

in January. 171)5. ''"■' Legislature returned for a 
filial and very short session in Potighkee])sie, January 
'•th to 14th. then adjourned to New York, where the 
session was resumed on the 20th. In his message, 
read at the organization in Poughkeciisie, Governor 
Clinton recommended "an act for the encouragement 
of schools," and in accordance with his recommenda- 
tion the legislation which became the foundation of 
the system of State aid to the schools was ])assed near 
the close of the session in New York, l^ider this act 
the following apportionment of school moneys was 
niaile in Dutchess County, as recorded in the tnwn 
book: 

"Whereas, I'.y an .\ct of the Legislature nf this 
st.'ite F.ntitled an .\ct for the F.nconragement nf 
sclinols. Passed the ninth day of .\pril 170.^ among 
ntlur tilings Therein coutaiiied the sum of £2.ifxi is 
distributed to the count\- of Dutchess, to be .\|)por- 
tinned to the purposes therein mentioued among the 
Sevi'ral T.iwns of said County. In pursuance then of 
the act aforesaid the Pioard of Su))ervisors for .said 
enunly certifv that to the Town of Khiiu-beck is alloted 

IIk' sUlll nf i2\Ct 5s, ,^1.." etc. 

Ill the recnrd bnnk nf the town i<\ I'niighkei-p.sii- the 
allotments are written out as above, but will be innre 
easily read if tabulated as subsequent allotments were. 



'Rev. L. M. Vincent's "Methodism in Poughkccpiie," 



l> 13. 



HISTORY Of I'OUGHKEEPSIE. 



tjy 



£ s. d. 

Town of Rliind)c'ck 216 5 3 

'■ North luist 154 I o 

■■ Anu'iiia r 17 ro 3 

" Clinton iSi 14 o 

" Frankliiig- Si 19 3 

" Pawliiii;- \\)2 II 3 

'■ Pliillii)s 116 10 6 

Xortli I'"ast 115 10 () 

■■ Stanford y)j 15 3 

" " I'oughkcfpsio 132 I (1 

" Wasl)in<;ton 120 9 6 

'■ Fishkill 267 12 3 

■■ Cannell la; 12 3 

" ■' Frederick So 19 6 

" P.ecknians 167 17 6 

"After the treasnrer's fees are deducted Given 

under our hands and seals the 30th Day of May 1795." 
Taiixa Mokton, 

RiCIFARH D. CoXKI.TN. 

Aaron Stock i i or. :m, 
Jkssk Oakmcv, 
Josici'ii Crank, Jr.. 
Ezra Thompson. 

S.XMURr, TOWNKR. 

E. \MU!nscuoti:n. 
Ep.rnkzkr Mott. 
Edmi). Vvm 1,1:1:. 

JOSKI-II Xol.IA'. 
W'll.l.IAM Takkr. 
Attests. Ru'liAKl) I'AKIvl'IT. 

Town Clerk. 
The first commissioners of schools for the town 
of Pouphkeepsie were Jacoh Railcliff. Archibald 
Stuart and Samuel T^uckey, elected in 1796. 

Ixi'OKI'OKATIdX AS A \' 1 1. LACK. 

Advertisements of ])ro|)erty for sale durincf this 
period usually refer to the "town of Poug-hkeepsie," 
as if the name "town" were popularly applied only 
to the central section shown on the map made in 
1700. where most of the stores were located, as well 
as tlu' two chm-ches, the Court House, the lawyers 
offices and the homes of leadinef citizens. By 1798, 
six stores were advcrtisinsf in the Pous^hkccpsie 
Jniiriial. and also Knower & Hobson's hat manu- 
factory. It is probable, of course, that there were 
several others not advertising^. One (^r two o{ the 
stores were at the river, the rest on the hill in Mar- 
ket or Main Streets. John P. \'emont advertised, at 
his store, a few doors north of the Court 1 fonse. 
"dry goods. West India _s^oods. ironmon<:;ery. car- 
penters' tools. Crockery, &c." : \'an Kleeck & Thorn 
advertised a similar assortment : John Cooke, "a few 
doors east of .\nthony Hoffman's." advertised wines, 
rum, sugar, teas and a general stock of groceries, 
with tobacco, glass and stone ware, nails, &c. ; Dr. 
James L. \'an Kleeck advertised a "Cheap Medical 



Store," and stated that "Dr. \"an Kleeck will give 
his advice to farmers, who shall call at his store for 
medicines without exi)ense." Anihon\ Ernest ad- 
vertised "a wholesale and retail ironmongery and 
hardware store," with a lon;^ and tempting list of 
articles, from anvils and vises to tooth brushes, tinder 
boxes and ink powder. 1 k' llattered himself that 
country storekeepers would "save the time and ex- 
jiense of sending or going to New York for such 
goods." Boards and planks were offered at "the Col- 
rock landing" by William Rider, Innkeeper, and a 
variety of articles at the general store at the upjier 
landing, where also Robert L. Livingston's mill ad- 
vertised boards and planks, plaster, etc. No name is 
signed to the first upper landing advertisement,' but 
it contains this interesting note at the end: 

"N. B. The FERRY is now established upon 
a regular plan, and Travellers to the Westward 
will find it much to their convenience to cross 
the River at the above place, as it shortens their 
journey, and they may be assured they will meet 
with no detention." 

This doubtless indicates the beginning of regular 
ferry service at Poughkeepsic, though the ferry had 
probably been established for several years. Rich- 
ard Davis, Gilbert Livingston, Valentine Baker, Wal- 
ter Livingston, Peter Tappen and Noah Elting ap- 
l)lied for grants of water lots "op]iosite Poughkeep- 
sic and New Paltz" in 1791, which seems to imply 
an intention to start a ferry. Gilbert Livingston and 
Peter Tappen then owned the Union Landing and 
land was granted to them in 1792. Noah Elting 
lived on the west side of the river and is there said 
to have established the first ferry, but local tradition 
has usually assigned the beginning of the enterprise 
to the Iloffmans on this side. There seems to be no 
record of a franchise from the State. Doubtless 
travellers before 1798 usually had crossed at the older 
Yan Keuren Ferry, later Theo])hilus .Anthony's (Mil- 
ton Ferry), four miles below Poughkeepsic. The 
first local ferry is said to have been a barge or scow 
rowed by slaves. 

.\11 this shows that the little town near the Court 
Mouse hatl begun to specialize in storekee])ing, re- 
(|uired better facilities of travel and would naturally 
soon be looking for incorporation as a village. Just 
what ;igitation. if any, preceded incorporation, is not 
known. 

The first charter, ])assed .March 27th. 179'), says 
in its preamble, "it has been re])resented to the Legis- 
l.itnre by the inhabitants of the \'illage of Pough- 
kee])sie. that the existing laws are inadequate to an- 

'.Ml these arc from the Poughkeepsic Journa! of May 
22. I7y8. 



HISTORY OF POUGUKEEPSIE 



swer the end of enabling them to regulate their in- 
terior police." The word "police" must not be taken 
in its ])resent meaning ; there was no police force be- 
sides a watchman or two and the towii constables for 
many years. The charter created a board of trustees 
to be composed of "five discreet freeholders" elected 
annually on the third Tuesday in May. by the "free- 
holders and inhabitants of the said village, qualified 
to vote at town meetings." At the same time the 
voters were authorized to choose "not less than three 
nor more than five judicious inhabitants, being free- 
holders, as assessors ; one treasurer, being also a free- 
holder ; one collector, and as many fire wardens as the 
trustees * * * may direct." Any one who should 
refuse to serve as trustee, assessor or fire warden was 
liable to a fine of $25.00. 

The trustees were given power to make "such 
prudential by-laws, rules and regulations, as they 
from time to time shall deem meet and proper, and 
such in particular as are relative to public markets 
* * * streets * •' and draining, filling up, paving, 
keeping in order, and improving the same : relative 
to slaughter houses and nuicances generally ; rela- 
tive to a town watch and lighting the streets ; relative 
to the number of taverns or inns to be licensed ; * '' ''' 
relative to restraining geese, swine, or cattle of any 
kind : relative to the better improving their common 
lands : relative to the inspection of weights and 
measures ; relative to erecting and regulating hay- 
scales, and relative to anything whatsoever that may 
concern the public and good government of the said 
village : but no such by-laws shall extend to the regu- 
lating or ascertaining the prices of any commodi- 
ties or articles of i)rovision, e.xcept the article of 
bread,' that mav be offered for sale," 



'A special section is devoted to bre.iil. This niaucr i> 
covered in the next chapter. 



Firemen were to be exempted "from serving as 
jurymen, or in the militia * * * except in cases of 
actual invasion of this State, or insurrection there- 
in : I'rovided that the number of firemen do not 
exceed twenty." 

The boundaries of Poughkeepsie as given in this 
first village charter remain the boundaries of the 
City of I'oughkeepsie to-day, as follows: 

Beginning at the mouth of a small brook fall- 
ing into Hudson's river, at a small distance south 
')f a point of land commonly called ship yard point, 
which mouth of said brook is on the laiivl of the late 
I lenry Livingston, deceased; thence east, as the mag- 
netic needle now points, one hundred and thirty 
chains to a stone set in the ground, on which is 
rngraven the word "Corporation ;" again, from the 
mouth of the brook aforesaid, northerly along 1 hul- 
son's river, including the flats or shoals between high 
waters' mark and the channel of the said river, to 
the mouth of another small brook, or where the 
same joins the waters of Hudson's river aforesaid, 
which last mentioned brook is commonly known by 
the name of Kidney's creek or kill, and divides the 
land of Robert L. Livingston from the land of .\bra- 
ham I 'ells; then from the mouth of the said brook 
last mentioned u]) the middle of the same, however 
it runs, to the i)ost road ; thence due east as the 
magnetic needle now points so far as that on a 
straight line due west it will be one hundred and 
thirty chains from Hudson's river, to a stone set in 
the ground, on which is engraven the word "Cor- 
poration ;" and thence in a direct line to the stone set 
in the ground first above mentioned. 

Henry Livingston's map. made ;it the time of in- 
corporation, shows just what the village of I'ough- 
keepsie was tlu-n. 'I'here is no record of a census 
ajiart from tlie town tor a mimher of years but the 
village must ]ia\'e liail more than i.ooo inhabitant^ in 
\X(Mi. for the \>'\\n Ii.-mI .v-'4''- 



CHAPTER V. 



From the Incorporation of the Village to the Close of the War of 1812 — Village Organi- 
zation—The Dutch Church and the Market — The P^ire Department — The Village Streets 
— River Industries — Fall Kill Industries — Other Manufactories — The Vassar Brewery — 
Developing a Business Centre — Banks, Schools, Etc. — Churches- Newspapers and Politics. 



For some rea.son, of which I have fDiiiid no record, 
the village of Poughkeepsie seem.s to have made two 
.starts before it fairly got going. The "freeholders and 
inhabitants"' were directed to meet annually on the 
first Tuesday of May and choose "five discreet free- 
holders" as trustees. They did so meet in 1799 and 
elected James S. Smith, \'alentine Baker, Andrew 
I'illings. Ebenezer Badger and Thomas Nelson, the 
first of whom became president of the board. Dmil)t- 
less at the same meeting assessors, a treasurer, a col- 
lector and fire wardens were also elected. Several 
iirdinances' passed by the trustees in 1799 have come 
down to us, among them that establishing the "bee 
hive" as the device on the corporation seal, an ordi- 
nance for the collection of taxes and "a law to prevent 
horses running loose in the streets and highways, to 
])revent racing and violent riding and driving from 
yards &c into and upon the streets," etc. There is 
therefore nn diiubt that the corporation was organized 
and that the officials elected exercised the authority 
conferred u])on tliem by tlie charter. Possiblv there 
was a drawn battle over the second election — it was a 
time of strong political feeling — ])ossil)ly nierelv some 
technical failure to comply with the law. At any rate 
the charter was reenacled in exactly the same lan- 
guage by the legislature on .Vpril 8th, 1801. No village 
ordinances for the \ear of 1800, and no list ni ti-ustees 
fur th;Lt \ear have \)vvu h;inileil dnwn. It wmild seem. 
liii\\H'vi-r, that the C(ir|)i)i-ate life uf the \-illage was re- 
garded as Cdntinnnus. because ordinances passed in 
I7<)() continued in fcirce ai)i)arentl\- without reenact- 
ment. Regular minutt-s of tlu' ])rocei'dings of the 
trustees were not kept until i8o_^ and we ha\'e the 
names of only the ])residents n\ the board fur tlu' 
years 1801 and 1802. That of (). \'>. \'an Ness, 1802, 

'Much of thi.s information i.s from a pamphlet printed in 
iS^'j 1)y Piatt &• Ranncy, entitled "Charter and Laws of the 
Corporation of Ihc Village of Poiishkeepsie," and also from 
an earlier pamphlet not dated but apparently printed about 
T820. 



was but recently found in a newspaper for that year, 
but not a single complete copy of a Poughkeepsie 
newspa]ier for J 800 is known to exist. The first book 
of minutes covers the period from the election of May, 
1803, to Oct. 8th, 1817, and the first page is as follows: 

RliCORDS OF Till': Ct>Kl'OKATIO.\. 

.\t a meeting of the trustees of the \'illage of 
Piiughkeepsie held at the Court House in said village 
on the third Tuesday in May 1803 the following per- 
sons were duty elected by the freeholders and inhabi- 
tants of said village, ofiicers for the ensuing year, 
viz : 

.\ndrew Billings ] 

Ebenezer Badger 

Robert No.xon [- Trustees 

Jesse Oakley & I 

Robert H. Livingston | 

Richard Everitt | 

Robert Noxon ]- Assessors 

John Manney I 

Peter B. Morgan 

Matthew Caldwell ; Eire Wardens 

John N. P.ailev J 

Leonard 11. Lewis, Collector. 
William I'.mott. Treastu'er. 

\'nTKI.. 

That the sum ni two hundred and fifty [).ill;u-> he 
raised in this village fur the piu'pose of digging wells: 
or otherwise' supplying the fire engine with water, for 
repairing or jirocuring fire-hooks and liozen to the 
engine, and for other contingent jmriioses for the en- 
suing year.- - 

( )n the next page is the record of a meeting "lield 
at l'.;d(lwin's Ib.tel on the twenty-sixth day of .May. 
1803." at which meeting Anchx'w liillings was elected 
President and was dii-eeti-cl to procure "a large folio 
book wi'll botnid in which are to be transcribed the 
Charter iK: l,;iws of the N'illage — and also a sni;dli'r 
book in which are to he kept the minutes of the ])ro- 
ceedings (Jt accounts of the corporation." .\mong 
other thintrs it was resolved: 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIB 



73 



That thai part uf the Law passed March 2nd 1803 
entitled "An act to prevent damage being done byiwine 
in the N'illage of Poughkeepsie," which refers to 
the I'ound Masters advertizing be and hereby is re- 
Ijcaled — and that instead thereof the following is or- 
dained viz : That the Pound Master shall affix one 
advertisement at the door of the I'ound, one at the 
Market and one at the Court House door. 

There was therefore, already a fire engine, a jjound 
atid a \illage market, perhaps all three inherited from 
the town organization. In fact there was also a fire 
coni]i;ni\. as apjjears from the minutes of a meeting 
held July iStli, when the firemen ]K'titioned for "the 
privilege of nominating persons to fill all vacancies 
which may happen in the said company." The market 
stood on the southeast corner of Market and Main 
Streets, adjoining the Dutch burying ground. The 
stalls or stands in it were sold each year at public 
auction and in 1803 went to John Arden, $7.00; James 
Slater, $3.00: Mr. Jefferies, $3.00 and George Markle 
$3.00. Michael \'erien also rented a stall for a part of 
the year. The market, the firemen and the corporation 
wells and i)umps fill up a good dead of space in the 
early records. The first especially gave trouble. 

In Novemlier, 1805, the Consistory of the Dutch 
Church gave a lease of the old grave-yard for 21 years 
to Teunis Van Kleeck, John Everitt and Randall S. 
Street, and at a s])ecial meeting of the trustees, on the 
13th, these gentlemen appeared with the demand that 
the "Market House now standing opposite the Dutch 
burial ground be moved." The trustees showed fight 
at once and required the "applicants to produce the 
title Deed under which the Trustees of the Dutch 
Church claim the land in question." A public meeting 
was called for Dec. 5th at the Court House and there 
was a large attendance. William Emott, George P. 
Oakley and John Sayers, the trustees present, made a 
long statement (covering more than three pages of 
the minutes), of their position and reafl a copy of the 
(k-vd of 171S. which they said. "con\eys the land in 
question to se\eral persons in trust frir the neighbor- 
hood in order that they might build a churcli and inter 
their deceased friends there." The ((uestion was at 
once raised as to the right of the church to use or 
allow the use of the land for any other purposes, and 
the i)eople voted by a large majority not to move the 
market, but to raise $100 to defend their position. 
Suit was begun in chancery by the village to determine 
the issue, and the lessees of the prop^'rly ;ilso brought 
ejectment suits against the lessees of the market stalls. 
The matter dragged along for a >'ear. the Chanci'Uor 
nieanwhik' having graiUe<I an injunction against the 
erection of Imildings on the grnnttd. There was 
an agreement in November. 18(16. to post|ione 
action and under date of Jan. 19th, 180". it 



was "Resolved unanimously that the market be 
removed to the west side of Market Street 
opposite to where it imw stands and adjoining the 
Court House yard." liills for $75,853/^ were audited 
in May for the removal, and from that time until 1814 
or later the building stood in the middle of the street, 
though it is i)robable there was no roadway on the 
west side of it until after the Court House fence and 
yard were abolished. In 1814 Tallmadge & Bloom, at- 
torneys, advised the trustees that they could not "main- 
tain the inarkt't in the strei-t in opposition to the High- 
land Turnpike." which then controlled the Post Road 
and had entered coin|ilaint. .\nother series of public 
meetings was held and finally the building was sold, 
Sept. 7th. for $65. It was removed but was rebuilt by 
order of the trustees in 1818, and some persons are 
still living who remember it. One or the other of 
these old market buildings was removed to the east 
side of Academy Street, No. 31, and converted into a 
dwelling which remains in use. 

Although the lessees of the burial ground sei-iu to 
have won their case, only small buildings of a tem- 
porary nature were erected there until after 1830, and 
interments are said to have continued there until about 
1817. Samuel .Veilson. the Irish patriot, who died 
of yellow fever in Pouglikeepsie in 1803. was doubt- 
less l)iu"ied there, and his body was moved .about 
1S30 l)y Egljert F!. Killew then one of the editors of 
the 7\"/t't;r<i'/'/i, to the Episco])al Cemetery (purchased 
1828) on Montgomery Street. It was again disin- 
terred. Sept. 15th. l88o. and remo\ed with apprnpri- 
ate ceremony to a plot in the Rural Cemetery. The 
following interesting account of Xeilson's life ,and 
death is taken from The Political Raroiiwtcr of Sejit. 
6th. 1803: 

"Died in this village, on Monday, the 29th nit.. Mr. 
Samuel Neilson, a native of Ireland, and latel\ fnmi 
that country. He was one of those famous Irish pa- 
t'-iots who, witli Fitzgerald, Grattan, O'Connor. I'lond 
Tone, AI'Revin, &c., headed the United Irishmen in 
their attempts to obtain a refomi in parliament, and 
their subsequent struggles for liberty, which finallv 
brought upon them the severest vengeance and cnieltx 
of the P.ritish government, after the failure of the 
French expedition to assist them. He, for some vears, 
conducted the celebrated paper, the Northern Star : 
his i5roDerty was destroyed or confiscated, and he 
was kei^t in close confinement, for the space of about 
six \ears. the latter part of which time, he assisted 
in negotiations between the United Irishmen and the 
Rritish government. * * * Mr. Neilson was never liber- 
ated from i^rison until he was sent on board ship, 
with a miniber of other prisoners, at a few honrs 
warnitig. withotU even being allowed the liberty of 
bidding his dearest friends adieu : he arrived in this 
countrv, we understand, about to or 11 months atjo. 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIB. 



"Some few weeks since Mr. \eilsoii issued pro- 
posals for publishing an evening paper in New York ; 
driven from thence by the calamitous disease which 
now ])revails in the city, he was taken sick on his 
])assage up the river, landed here on Sunday, and 
died on Monday morning: his remains were decently- 
interred in tile Dutch Presbyterian burying ground in 
this village." 

There was e\identl\ an engine houst' lor the tu'e 
engine on the Court 1 Imise Int before i8o_v though the 
first reference to it in the minutes of the trustees is 
under date of March ". 1X04: 

That till- I 'resident employ some person tc) re|iair 
the two public pumps in this village and also the door 
of the Engine House by clearing away the obstructions 
occasioned by the ice and snow — and that the engine be 
cleaned and oiled. 

.•\ppareutl\ the engine had not been much in use 
during the winter. The first corjioration well was at 
the Court Ibnise corner, and Sept. 12. 1803, a second 
well was (irdereil to "be digged * * '■■ nearly op- 
posit the drain made by the turnpike company opposite 
the lane between the bimses of James Tallmadgc and 
Stei)hen Durando." This was on the north side of 
Main Street, the lane luentioned afterwards becoming 
Garden Street. \'.\x-u before this the matter of a gen- 
oral water sujiply had been agitated, as appears from 
the following under date of July 6, 1803: "Orderetl 
that the trustees \ie\\ the situation of the ground 
aroiuid the \illage in oi-iK-r to determine' the ])ractibil- 
it\ of ciiu<lucting water to (he \illagr tor the purpose 
of extinguishing lires." .\t the same meeting two 
good ladders "and also one good strong fire liook on 
each side of which is to be affixed a chain" were or- 
dered. .\t the meeting of May 2nd. 1804. the firenten 
re])orted "the following ])ersoiis as constitiUiug their 
comi)auy to wit : 



Richard I larris 
John Nelson 
John Armstrong 
Win. Smith 
Moses ^'elverton 
John Field 
Chris Marglea 



JoNbtia Drgnil'f 
SimeiiU I. iMH'ar 
Joseph I'owel 
|ose])h Maxon 
John E. I'ells 
Casper I iillei|uist 
James Tallmadge, Jun. 



William R. IJarnes Geo. P. (*)aklev. 

" Mr. Joseph Powel was elected Cai)tain of said 
conii)an\- in the i)lace of John Smith dee'd. The 
trustees also chose four firemen whose jilaees were 
vacant — viz William Kidney. John llobson, Matthew 
Caldwell & John Swartwoui. Messrs. Gilbert Living- 
ston. Jesse ( )akley. John Davis, \'alentine P.aker, 
Stephen Hoyt & Fa'vv McKeen were chosen "/>(j,t: 
Men" whose dnt\ it is in case of fire to take charge 
of all property which may be endangered iS: deliver it 
over to the owner on ;i])])lication being made." 

On Jan. 3d. 1805. it was resolve.] "that there >hall 



be proper persons appointed and denominated as Hook 
and ladder men," and soon afterwards a new fire 
house was built on the southwest corner of the Court 
House lot " adjoining the house of Peter B. Morgan." 
This was evidently on Union Street. James Emott's 
barn on Market Street was used as an engine house 
in 1806 and he was paid for its use "by balancing the 
fine laid * '■'■'■ of 3 dollars for unlawfully burn- 

ing his chimney." Well Xo. 3 was dug 1805, in the 
neighborhood of Hamilton and Main Streets opposite 
William Eiuott's. In Sept, 181 1, a second engine coiu- 
]iany was organized and a house was built for it "near 
Mrs. Livingston's office," (north side of Main Street 
east of Catherine), and Well No. 4 was dug close by. 
April 5, 1814, a third fire engine w'as purchased of 
George Booth, and a third company w'as organized. 

Along with the minutes of a special meeting held 
Sept. 23, 1805, the following in\-entory of village prop- 
erty is recorded : 

I Market House 

I Common Seal 

I Statute Book 

I Record Book 

3 Wells — pumps 

I Fire Engine House 

I Fire Engine & Apjiaratus 

4 Fire Hooks 

1 I'ire Pole 

4 Ladders — X<_>. i. _'. 3 iS; 4. 

J Takle blocks — with a fall i*t a spare piece of rope 

A Tri-Shares for the pur])ose of assisting in 

cleaning out wells. 

2 Tubs for do do 
I Pail 

I Iron ]nimp I look 

I Iron spare Pump Handle 

.\ ])iece of Iron part of immp aparatus — lost 

A i)arcel of Plank & Timber which wa.- taken from 

the old fixtures of Well \"o. 1 iK: _' 
.\ Map of the X'illage with Wm. I'.mott. 
.\ Screw for HoeS' — with do 
The exeini)lification & other pai)eis n'lati\e to the 

\'illage now 1 June 24. 1806) with Win. F.moti 

President. 
I Pair of Scales & Beams iS: Setl copiier or br;i-~>- 

weights from l-lC) oz uj) to jjb inclusixe for the 

use of the Bread Iiis]iector. 

It will be noted that tire buckets are not inehide<l 
in the in\eiitor\. The\ were the ])ropi'rt\ of the citi- 
zens and e\-er\ honsi- was re(|uired to be pro\icled 
with them. There ari' numerous records of ]nini>li- 
nu'iit or jirosecution threatened for f.ailure in this 
matter, and all n;ale citizens "front the ages of 1^2 ti) 
fio" were expected to turn out at fires and assist the 
llremeii b\ foniiing lines and passing buckets. In an 
ipnliiiance dali-d Jan. 2~. iSoH. the firemen nrv iliiect- 
ed "to collect all the buckets and leave them at the 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 



court house." after a fire. The onliuance .seems to 
Iiave heen passed for the purpose of orgauiziug a new 
company or of reorganizing the old one. It pro- 
vides that among the officers shall be "three fire en- 
gineers and four managers of hooks and ladders and 
eight ])ersnns to l)e denominated the committee of 
trust to take charge of the propertx' endangered by 
fire." 

The llread Inspector above mentioned was an im- 
pnvtaut (ifficer in early village days. Tile first one 
named was jnhn h'orbus. Otli Jidy. iSo,^. The charter 
( Art. 5) ]irii\i(led that the trustees slmuld have power 
111 rnacl an (irdiiiance prdhibiting any baker or other 
]>ersiiii "from selling an\ bread at any higher price 
nr rate than bread of the like quality at the time of 
such sale shall be assized in and for the City of New 
York." Such an ordinance was evidently enforced 
from an early date, as the following notice from the 
Political Barometer in 1802 shows: 

.'\SS1ZE OF BUliAD. 

.At a meeting of the trustees of the Village of 
I'oughkeepsie, on the 4th da\' of August instant. Ord- 
ered That the Assize of Tlread after the iith inst. 
shall be as folk)ws : lb. oz. 

t Loaf of superfine flour shall weigh 1 re for 6 cts 
I Loaf do d(i _^ fi f(ir 12 

I " com. tldur I 13 fur Ti 

I " do do ,^ 10 for 12 

I " Rye 2 12 for 6 

I " do do 3 iS for 12 

(".. P.. \a.\ .\'i;ss. President. 

Similar notices appear in the village minutes and 
in the newspapers for many \ears. I'\ery time the 
])rice of flour rose the bakers petitinued f(ir a change, 
and when the jirice fell the citizens ke]il the trustees 
to their dut\. of increasing the loaf (H- decreasing tin- 
price. From time to time lists of bakers were given in 
the village niinuteis. 

Tiiiv Court Plousii Fiuk. 1806. 

The most important fire of this period was that of 
Sept. 25th. 1806. which consumed the Court House, the 
historic Iniilding in which the great men of 1788 had 
met to ratify the constitution. It is .seldom that one 
gets nuich local news from the early newspa])ers. Inil 
the Journal departed from the rule this time, and in 
its issue of Tuesday, Sept. 30th. published this report: 

FIRE.— On Thursday night last. Ix-tween the hours 
of ten and eleven, the inhabitants of this village were 
alarmed by the cry of fire which proved to be in the 
Court House. It originated in one of the lower apart- 
ments of the jail, from which, notwithstanding the 
great exertions that were made to stop its progress, it 



e.xtencled betwei'u ihe ct-iling and the floor in the sec- 
ond story, to the court room and in a little time the 
whole building was enveloped in flames. Several of 
the adjacent buildings were much exposed to the fire, 
particularly Mr. Morgan's two houses which were the 
buildings nearest to the Court House. But owing to 
the perfect calnniess of the evening, and the dampness 
of the houses, in consequence of the rain which fell 
during the preceding afternoon Mr. Morgan's build- 
ings, by the exertions of the citizens, were preserved, 
and the fire extinguished without doing farther dam- 
age than destroving the Court House. 

Much credit is due to the citizens in general fur 
their activity on this calamitous occason. 

It is not positivelx' ascertained how the fire orig- 
inated, but it is generally supposed that it was design- 
ed!}' communicated by some jierson confined in the jail. 

The difficulty which was experienced on Thursday 
evening in procuring water we think ought to suggest 
to our corporation the necessity of making such fur- 
ther arrangements in tliis respect as will prevent a 
future recurrence of the evil. 

On the next i)age of the same ])aper is the follow- 
ing notice : 

TO THE PUBLIC. 

The sheritT (if the County of l)iitclK>s ti-nders In. 
most sincere thanks to the F'iremen and Citizens of 
this village and county, for their exertions, in his 
absence, in assisting Mr. Forbus to secure the crim- 
inals ; and their exertions to extinguish the fire at the 
late destruction of the jail and Court-House in this 
village. 

He informs the |)ublic that the criminals are imw 
temporarily confined, and safel\ guartled. in the house 
occupied by Amaziah Blakeslw nearly opposite the 
Academy, in Cannon Street, where if occasion should 
demand prisoners will be received and secured. 

He further gives notice, that his office is now ke])t 
by Mr. Forbus, as usual, in the house lately occu]iied 
by George B. Everson, Esq., a few doors west of the 
.\cademy in Cannon .Street : where all public business 
relative to his nflice will be attended to as heretofore. 
Josr-.i'ii Thorx. Sheriff. 
Poughkeeiisie. September 20th. 1806. 

John Forbus. the de|)uty sheriff, and his assistants, 
succeeded in sav'ing the public documents I'utiri'. as 
he tells us in a notice appended to that of the sheriff, 
but doubtless some things that would have been of 
historical interest were burned in this fire as well as 
in that of 1785. No description of this historic Court 
House has been found. References to it in survexs 
etc.. show, however, that it was built of stone or bi-ick. 
had a stec])le and was probably not much smaller in 
size than the building which succeeded it. Majis made 
durins:;- its existence seem to show that it covered 
the whole sj^ace from Main to I'nion Streets. fSee 
pp. 65 and 71. and also cut. p. 78.) 

Yery soon after the fire communications began to 
appear in the Poiii^hkeepsie Journal in favor of rebuild- 



HISTORY OF P O r C H K E E P S I E 



iiiii' in a new locatidii. Levi ?\icl\ci.'n, wlio mviu'il a 
large farm north of Main v^trrt-t. nft'ered groiincl 
for the l)uil(liiig free of charge, and it was stated that 
the old site on Market Street could be sold for $5,000, 
saving that anmuiit to the countv. Possiblv some one 



>riginall\ c(i\ereil with stiiccn, but have seen no record 
showing when the change was made. 



Tin 



The Lev 



N'tLLACIi STRKETS. 

.MeKeen mentioned above, lived in a 
unearthed the cM \'an den liogart lease, providing that house a part of which, at least, stood until a few years 
the pro])erty shuuld revert to that family if used for ago incorporated in the Cottage Tlill School buildings, 
any other purjiose than that for which it was granted, It was jierhap- Driginally the I'.ndewein Lacount place 
but more probabl> |iublic eimvenicnce determined the shown on the 1770 ma|). and the lane leading to it be- 
decisinn Id vebnilil 1 ui the nid .ite. At an\ rate the came Oanlcni Street, and was so named apjiarcntly bc- 




///,■ ( ;-//// l/oiis,- jiid Old ••l.ai.'vcrs Rov." 



su])ervisors did so decide and the C'mut 1 louse which 
stood for almost one hundred years (until 11)03 I was 
built in iSo(). The little building for the surrogate on 
the corner of I'nion Street, was erected much later, 
apparemly in 1S47. and the .separate jail not until 
i860. Dungeons of the grim old type, characteristic of 
the days when the comfort and health of criminals 
were not considered worthy of thought, were iirovided 
in the cellar I'or the worst offenders. I have been 
I>ld that the stone walls of the Court House were not 



cause it led to Le\i McKc 
north of .Mill Street. 

( )ccasionall\ oni- gets 
trustees a little ]iicture of 01 
der date of .\'ov. , 
"Th.-it lames .\l(jore be allow 
l;irs to \v\v\ .-md gravel so 
C'emeter\ as lies lietween the 



.■n 



ate not far 



s from the recori 
one of the old str( 
iSoJ, the trustees 



ed llu 

much 

fence 



sum ( 
■ f tlu 
>f till 



Is of the 
.x'ts. I'n- 
resolved. 
lour l)o|- 
.1(1 Dutch 
>aid ceme- 



tery- and the ditch of 
hail receiilK lieen w orK 



the turnpike." .Main Slrei 
I'd li\ the Dutchess Tin-ni)il' 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 



Company froiii the Court House east, and there were 
deep ditches on each side. The same conditions pre- 
vailed in all the other streets and very little grading 
had been done except to make the water run through 
the ditches. The resolution quoted seems to indicate 
also the first sidewalk improvement on the south side 
of Main Street. Poughkeepsie was undoubtedly a 
verv muddy little village in wet weather, Init im- 
provements were coming. For the jiresent — the early 
part of the period before the War of 1812 — the chief 
business was laying otit new streets, esi)eciall\ in the 
region west of the Post Road where they were demand- 
ed by the development of the river trade. The town 
(not the village) road commissioners had charge of 
this matter, and were particularly active in the year 

1800. On the 6th of ^Ia\- in that year they extended 
]\Iain Street to the river, "at or near the jilace Com- 
monly called the Caul rock landing," which had be- 
come too important to tolerate longer the winding ap- 
proach from Mill Street, The old road was straighten- 
ed out and extended south to the "road leading from 
the court house to Everson's store" (ITnion Street) and 
became Clover Street. Montgomery Street was ex- 
tended westward "to the Road of Richard Davis" 
(Pine Street) as a part of another road to the river, 
following the lines somewhat of Lincoln Avenue, 
Columbia and Prospect Streets, to John Reed's land- 
ing near Ship- Yard Point (Fox's), Prospect, Living- 
ston, Favette. Commerce and Navigation Streets had 
been mapped in the same year in a partition of the 
"Shipyard Property"' among the heirs of Henry Liv- 
ingston who died in iJfK). These streets were all 
soon afterwards accepted by the commissioners 
though some with changed names. Navigation Street 
is several times mentioned in later surveys and was 
intended to run along the water front. Washington 
Street became Jeflferson, and Commerce Street was 
mapped about where the present Columbia is. There 
was of course an old road leading to the ship-yard and 
Reade's landing, but the rest remained "paper streets" 
for a considerable number of years. The first village 
ordinance^ naming the streets was passed Nov. 6th, 

1801, giving Market, Main, Washington, Academy, 

1 Papers in County Clerk's Office. The commissioners for 
this divi.sion were Thomas Mitchell, .\rchihaltl Stewart and 
John Mott, appointed on petition of Gilliert Livingston, John 
H. Livingston, Henry Livingston, Rohert H. Livingston, C.e- 
rardus Dyckink, Melancthon L. Wolsey, Jonas Piatt, Paul 
Schenck, Smith Thompson and Cornelius Van Kleeck, (the 
last two assigns of Beekman Livingston, deceased). 

2For this ordinance in full see Appendix. It will he 
noticed that Columbia Street extended from Reade's landing 
northeasterly to Jefferson. It included the road to the Pough- 
keepsie Yacht Club and a part of Prospect which was not 
named in the ordinance. 



Cannon. Church, Mill, I'nion, I'inc, Livingston, Jef- 
ferson, Columliia. Clnver, Lridge, and Montgomer\' 
their present names. 

On Marcli iith, iSo_:;, the commissioners laid out 
Water Street, frnm I'nion "to the Creek opposite 
the Siiuth west cnrner (if Martin Hoffman & Co. 
Lower Cirist .Mill." and in May it was extended south- 
ward to "the Road leading to Winans shipyard," and 
Jefferson Street was extended across Fayette to Liv- 
ingston. Augu.st 23d, 1806, Mill Street was extended 
east of Washington "to the publick road that leads 
from the turnpike by the Mill of the said Gerardus 
Smith" (Smith Street), and Hamilton was extended 
north to meet it. Ily an ordinance passed Sept. l6th, 
1806, I^aurel. Tulii), Hamilton, Smith, Water, John, 
Cherry, Mechanic and Garden Streets were named. 

Before this the im])rovement of the roads leading 
into Poughkeepsie as turnpikes had begun. The 
Dutchess turnpike was surveyed in 1802 by John 
Beadle, father of the late Dr. Beadle, who formerly 
owned the Tower place on the north road, and in May 
of that }ear advertisements appeared in the I'ough- 
keepsie papers, the Journal and Political Ba- 
rometer, asking for subscriptions to the stock, 
the commissioners namecl being William Emott, 
Poughkeepsie ; Robert Abbott, Pleasant \'alley ; Zach- 
eus Newcomb and Timothy Beadle, Clinton ; Rufus 
Peck. Amenia ; William Thorn, Washington ; Isaac 
Smith, Amenia, and Joseph Balding, Pawlings. The 
road was surveyed from "the North East corner of the 
Court House" and the courses show much of interest 
about the old village. 

FROM THE SUKVKV OP Dt'TCIIKSS TURXPIKK. 

l\fap 20 A. Filed Ait^i:;. 31, 1804. 

"Said road is in every place laid out four rods 

wide To wit; Beginning on the southern side of sd 

road, at the North luisl corner of the Court House, 

thence : 

D. C. L. 

n8ie o 35 to the Ea.st Side of the Court House 
yard Main Street 

S63E 3 70 to the Northwest Corner of M. Bos- 
worth the liaker. 

S53E 1 1 GO to the West Side of Acadamia Streft. 

S30W o 20 along the W'est Side of Said Academy 
Street. 

S63E 9 25 to a fast stone marked near the house 
of William Emott. Esq, From thence re- 
turned to the place of Beginning. 

N34E I 25 to the South west post of Hotel. 

S64E 081 to the South east post of the hotel. 

S60E 6 06 to spot in Col. Talmadge's door yard 
found nearly west of the South west cor- 
ner. 

S52E I 63 To the south east part of Stephen 
Dorinda's Sitting post. 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE 



4 



-5 ('])piisite the South East Corner of 
Smith Thompson esq. 9 hnks from said 
house. 

20 to the South side of a locust tree op- 
posite said house. 

00 opposite the East end of Francis Le- 
Roy's house seven Hnks from said house. 
25 to the South west Corner of the House 
of John Sayr. 

2 47 opposite the East end of the House of 
Moses Yelverton. 

5 25 to a stone marked with X near the 
House occupied bv Jared Sloan. 

12 90 to a notch in the west fence nf Stephen 
Harris Garden. 

I 65 to a Hub in the Ground near the east 
end of a House of Francis Pells. 

13 75 Over the Old Road on the Land of 
Richard Everet to a black ash tree on the 
north loze ( ?) of the Road. 

16 16 Over the Old Road on the land of 
Temperance Cook to a stake in peter 
Deremer's Land East of his house and 
north of the Old Road. 
80 Over the Land of William .\rnold 
Leonard Lewis and John Copeman to a 
stake near his oven south west of his 
house. 

The hotel referred to in the beginning of this sur- 
vey is said to have been built in 1797, on the site of 



S70E 

S3o\\- 
S62E 
S66E 
S73E 
X82E 
S63E 
S67E 
S57E 

vS.s8E 



S72E 34 




JMa^/cet Stfeet 



Court House and Hold, as drax^'u on the Maf of the Dutchess 
T urn f ike, iSo.). 

the later Poughkeepsic Hotel. This final survey of 
the road with its branches to Dover and Sharon, was 



filed in 1804, after the work of improvement had be- 
,!.;un. The road seems to have been completed in 1805, 
\\ hen the company advertised for persons to keep it in 
repair. Not long afterwards stages were run from 
Poughkeepsie to Litchfield, Conn., and provided a 
great stimulus to travel and trade. A year or two 
later the Post Road was resurveyed, relocated in sev- 
eral places, and became the Highland Turnpike. Its 
charter w^as repealed in 1833 but the Dutchess Turn- 
pike continued to collect tolls until 1888, when the 
last toll-gate, at what is now called Arlington, was 
abandoned. The "Beekmans and Pawling Turnpike" 
is first mentioned in 181 1, and probably the Manchester 
Road from Poughkeepsie was built as a part of it. 

Cannon Street was extended east to Hamilton in 
1S07, from the "Dwelling House of Andrew Billings" 
( the Thomas House still standing) across the lands 
of Rev. Cornelius Brower and William Emott, Esq. 
The survey of the south side of the street passed 
"along the north side of the parsonage house so-called 
belonging to the Episcopal Church" (see page 68) 
which is also mentioned as "now occupied bv the 
Reverend Benjamin Bulkley." Major Andrew Bill- 
ings in 1790 and 1799 lived on the corner of Main 
Street, so the Billings (Thomas) house on the corner 
of Cannon Street must have been built between 1799 
and 1807. Tradition says it was built for Cornelia 
Billings soon after her marriage to Randall S. Street, 
formerly of Catskill, in 1802. There is still a window 
pane in the house on which "Cornelia Street" has been 
scratched with a diamond. This was probably the 
work of one of Randall S. Street's children, of whom 
there were ten. They included William L Street, 
Mrs. Levi P. Morton's father, who afterwards lived 
in the Episcopal parsonage house, and Alfred Billings 
Street, well known as a historical writer and as State 
librarian. Major Billings is said t<i have lived, dur- 
the last years of his life in the little white house 
( udw the property of Charles Kirchner) near the cor- 
lUT (if Church Street. 

Xnrtli Street (Parker Avenue) was surveyed and 
laid I nit b\ the commissioners as a ])rivate road in 
.\n\rmher, 1807, "from near the house of Richard Val- 
iiitiiii " (on the Creek road?) over lands of \'alen- 
tiiie. of IvCvi McKeen, Thomas Nelson, Thomas Bay- 
eaux and George Parker, joining the "turnpike road 
latch surxewd" near Parker's house and twenty-one 
liiik> fnnii "the east side of the present post road." 
In October, 1806, a street was surveyed from Mill to 
Main on the division line "between the heirs of lialtus 
\'an Kleeck and John E. Pells." This was first called 
Division Street, but was afterwards (1814) relocated 
as an extension of Bridge Street on petition of James 
Slater, George Booth, George P. Oakley, James Rey- 




Gb;C)RGK H. HVKKTSON. 
/•';( III fym/niil in possession of his grandilang/iier, Mrs. !•'.. (i. I'lilnui. 



HISTORY OF POUGHKBBPSIE 



81 



iiolds, (Jliver Holden, James Wilson. Juhn Arnistruns^, 
Richard Booth, E. W. A. Ilailcv. Martin Hoffman. 
Robert Hoffman and David i'liillips. It sci-nis not to 
have been opened until 1819 and IJridge Street north 
of Mill was altered in 1822 to make the ends of the 
two streets come together. The petitioners mentioned 
above asked also for a straightening of Mill Street 
and the survey for this reads, "Beginning at a point 
six feet north of the northeast corner of the ( )ld 
Stone House on the south side of Mill Street for- 
merly belonging to Baltus \'an Kleeck, deceased, now 
belonging to * * * Margaret Vassar * * * through 
the lands of said Margaret X'assar and James \assar 
(after crossing Vassar Street), John E. Pells (after 
crossing Division Street) and Thomas Bayeaux," to 
a point near the northeast corner of Thomas Ba)- 
eaux's old cooper shop. This survey shows the loca- 
tion of the old \'an Kleeck house, the Margaret Vassar 
mentioned being the mother of the late Matthew 
Vassar, Jr. (1809). and John Guy Vassar (1811). 
who were born in the house. Her husband, then 
recently deceased, was John Guy \'assar, a brother 
of the founder of \'assar College. At a subsequent 
widenmg and straightening of Mill Street, during the 
boom times of 1836, the line was run through the 
famous old house, which was then sacrificed to the 
demon of improvement. 

Perry Street was put through from Main to Union 
in 1814. and Front Street, called at first Navigation 
Street, and i)art of the plan before mentioned and 
already partly mapped for a street along the whole 
water front, was surveyed from opposite the house of 
James Reynolds (a frame house, probably not the 
one still standing) on Mill Street to Union Street. 
From Mill to Main Street it ran through the lands of 
George P. Oakley, James Slater, William Davis and 
Stephen Pardee. The survey south from Main 
Street began "at the northwest corner of Cornelius 
Simpson's house, exclusive of the piazza." This 
house is still standing. 

From all this it is evident that the development 
of the town was at this period mostly in the territory 
between the Post road and the river. The division 
of several farms facilitated this growth. Divisions of 
the Van Kleeck and Livingston properties in 1800 
have already been noted. In 1804 the property of 
James Winans' at the lower landing, was divided 
among his heirs and mapped into lots and streets. 

iTlie property was left by James VVinans, the elder, to 
his grandchildren (children of James and Joanna Winans). 
who were "John Winans, James J. Winans, David Winans. 
Stephen Winans, Catalina Winans, Sarah Spragnc. Atary 
Darrow. F.lizabetli ReynoUls, and Joanna Winans, the 
younger." 



Some of these streets, owing to the nature of the 
ground ( in the neighborhood of Adriance, Piatt & 
C'o.'s lactipi-y) have ne\er been opened. Tulip Street 
was laid out from Union Street south, apparently as 
a result of the Winans division. ;in(l in 1812 Prospect 
Street was extended to meet it. .\t the close of the 
V\'ar of 1 81 2 the frame work of Poughkeepsie was 
constructed, and after a charter amendment, passed 
May 26th, 1812, paving and grading were begun. 

The first paving notice imblished in the Journal is 
dated August iith, 1S12, and calls for "a meeting of 
the owners of lots fronting on that part of Main 
Street extending from the east line of the parsonage 
lot now in the occupation of the Rev. Cornelius C. 
Cu\ ler, to the east line of the lot occupied by John 
15rush. I\sq." At the meeting which was held Septem- 
ber 10th there were not enough votes to carry the 
whole section, but there was a majority (for names 
of voters see Appendix) in favor of paving from Mar- 
ket to Academy Streets, and the tru.stees accordingly 
entered into contract with Lewis Relay on October 
1st for the work. It was not until 1814 that a majority 
could be obtained for extending the pavement to 
Washington Street, and in the same year Cannon 
Street was paved to Academy. Market Street, on 
the other hand, fought shy of paving assessments 
through meeting after meeting until the business de- 
pression which followed the war ])ut a stop to what 
may be called the early cobblestone era. 

RiVI'.K IxnUSTRIKS AND FRf.ICTlTING. 

During this period the freighting industry in 
sailing vessels reached the to]) of its climax and the 
steamboat maile a beginning. Spafford's Gazetteer, 
published in 1813, luentions the "five serpentine roads" 
leading to the landings in Poughkeepsie. and says 
the trade is very extensive, requiring eight large sloops 
sailing weekly to New York. That vessels sometimes 
sailed to much more distant ports is shown by such 
a<l\'ertisements as the following: 

Foi; lloSTO.V AXI) PASSAMAQl-AnnV. 

The new Schooner Jaiir Ihinirs. .\llen Ward- 
well. Master. I'"or freight or jjassage ajiply at 
the store of 

G. B. EvERSON.' 

June 30. 180C1. 

George 1!. Everson. or Evcrtson, owned the 
storehouse and landing at the foot of LInion Street, 
as we have seen. In 1806 he purchased of John 
Murray the handsome house on Cannon Street, nien- 

iSee Appendix for historical Sketch of the Evertson 
family. 



82 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE 



tiotied in tlie last chapter as owned by Governor 
George Clinton. He probably enlarged the house, 
which he occupied until his failure in 1827, when 
George P. Oakley, as trustee, sold it to X. P. Tall- 
madge. In 1835 Tallniadge sold to Anthony Rutgers 
and he in turn to Walter Ctuiningham in 1839. Soon 
after this Cimninghani failed, as will appear in the 
next chapter, and in 1841 the house came into the 
possession of Henry Swift, a prominent lawyer. It 
has since been known as the Swift house, and is now 
owned and occupied by Henry Swift's granddaugh- 
ter. Evertson at the time of his failure owned nearly 
the whole block between Cannon and Church Streets. 
He sold the Union Landing property before 1815, at 
which time he was one of the five largest taxpayers 
in the town of Poughkeepsie, with an assessment of 
$33,600. The others were William Davis, $105.- 
000 ; \'alentine Baker, $40.750 : Henry Davis, $30,- 
000, and Levi McKeen, $25,000. Of these the first 
and third made much of their money in freight- 
ing. William Davis, or Davies' came to Poughkeepsie 
before 1800 and bought considerable property in the 
lower part of the village, including the Kaal Rock 
Landing, which he greatly extended and rebuilt, fill- 
ing in a section of the water front. This became 
Main Street Landing when the street was opened 
through, but it seems to have been sold to Samuel Pine 
and then to Stephen Pardee soon afterwards. 
1 leiny Uavis was a son of the Richard Davis 
who founded the Lower Landing. Martin Hoiifman 
& Co. were assessed $15,000 on a farm, ^lills and 
landing (foot of Mill Street) in 1815; Joseph Harris 
& Co. $12,500 on the Union Landing, Stephen Par- 
dee $3,500 on the dock and store house, foot of Main 
Street, John Pearce on store and landing, $6,000, and 
Thomas Sweet on houses, store and dock, $5,000. 

' It is difficult to tell whether there were two men, a 
\\'illi:iin Davies and a William Davi-;, in Poughkeepsie, or 
uhethcT William Davies, the father of Thomas L., allowed 
liis name to be spelled both ways. The family, at any rate, 
was distinct from that of Richard Davis, who with his 
brother John, settled in Poughkeepsie before the Revolu- 
tion. John ai)parently left no children but Richard, w hn 
died July J4. 1814, left three sons. Richard. Henry and 
Leonard, and one daughter, also grandchildren by another 
daughter, as shown by his will. As to the Davies family, 
in the first deed indexed William Davies, May 8. 1708. Lib 
15. p. 27,3. the grantee is described as "William Da\i^ dI 
Sharon in the State of Connecticut Gentleman," and tlu- 
name is spelled Davis throughout. The property conveyed 
was on Main Street. A second deed, .\pril 9, 1798, from 
Catherine Lester conveyed the sixty .urc-^ in the lower part 
of the village, fronting on the rivir. wliicb descended tn 
William .\. Davies. I find a William Davis mentioned 
December I, 1802. as executor of the estate of Solomon 
Sutherlanil and a William Davies mentioned in a foreclosure 
notice in June of the same year. 



( )ne of the last mentioned may have been at Rarnegat. 
John Drake, Jr., was assessed $9,550 on docks, store 
and thirty acres of land, doubtless at what is now 
New Hamburgh, then called Wappingers Creek, or 
Wappingers Landing. 

Fulton's first steamboat, the Clermont, passed 
Poughkeepsie going north, August 17th, 1807, to the 
great wonderment of the people. In 1808 an adver- 
tisement was printed in the leading papers along the 
river, stating that "The steamboat will leave New 
York every Saturday afternoon exactly at 6 o'clock 
and will pass * * * Newburg 7 o'clock Sunday 
nidniing. ] 'oughkeepsie II o'clock Sunday morning," 
etc. It adds that ".\s the time at which the boat may 
arrive may vary an Imur, ni<ire or less, according to 
the advantage of wind and tide, those who wish to 
come on board will see the necessity of being on 
the spot an hour before the time." The fare from 
New York to Poughkeepsie was given as $3.50 — 
some advertisements^ make it $4.00 — and it was not 
reduced until 1824, when the courts overthrew the 
monopoly which had been granted to Fulton & Liv- 
ingston. \n advertisement dated April i, 181 1, in 
the Poughkeepsie Journal, informs the public "that 
the North River Steam Boat will leave New York on 
Tuesday evening at precisely 5 o'clock and arrive at 
Poughkee])sie on or about 10 o'clock Wednesday 
morning." The time had therefore not been reduced 
during the three years. At first the steamboats did 
Udt make lan(lin<;s at Poughkeepsie. but had begun to 
do So in 1811, as indicated by the following words 
from an advertisement in the Republican Herald for 
November 27: "The steamboat will come to the dock, 
so that passengers can step on board without being 
exposed in a small boat, except when the wind will 
not permit : in which case will lie prepared for the 
reception of passengers." In 1813 George Crawford 
advertised a hotel at the foot of Main Street, together 
with the landing of the steamboats Paragon, Car of 
Xeptnne and North River, three boats a week each 
way. Stt'phen Schofield also advertised an ".Authoriz- 
ed Steanilxiat 1 Icnise" in the s;ime locality in the same 
\ear. 

In 1814 I'onghkeepsie became a stcanibo.nt terminal, 
and api)ears to have been the first tnwii so honored 
between .\'ew N'ork and Albany ( see .Morrison's 
"liistory of .\nierican Steam .\a\igation," page 155). 
The Fire h'ly. the smallest of the l''ulton iS: Living- 
ston fleet, was the first P(nighk(.'e])sie bo.at and was 
lirst ad\-ertist'(l March j'ltli tn niaki' two tri])s a wei-k. 
( )n June 13th "The proprietors nf ilu' sti'amboat rive 
I'lv. anxious to accommodate tlu- public as tar as 

'See Bacon's Ihidson, p. 28. 



HISTORY OF POUGHKBEPSIE. 



83 



in tlu-ir pciwcr,"' aniKniiiccd in the Journal that the 
boat \v()nlil run tiiree times a WL-ek. Tuesdaxs, Thurs- 
days and Saturdays from Xcw York, at 8 <j'clock in 
the morning, and \\'e(hiesdays, Fridays and Sundays 
from Poughkeepsie, at the same hour. "Her station 
in Poughkeepsie will be Pardee's dock, at the foot 
of Alain street." 

JMain Street Landing grew in importance with the 
growth of steamboat travel, but the centers of freight- 
ing continued at the Upper, Lower and Union Land- 
ings for many years and steamboats were not a strong 
factor in business until after the ^^'ar of i8i2. At the 
Lower Landing ( Pine Street ) an important group of 
industries began to grow early in the century. Win- 
ans's ship-yard, afterwards Darrow's, built sloops and 
schooners, and Zadock Southwick's tannery, estab- 
lished in 1807, soon obtained a large business. There 
was also a mill in this neighborhood, run by power 
from the small streams that converged there. Near 




//)<■ W'inans Ilmisr. hiiilt ah. ml iSoS. 
{Long oiLHt^icd by the Soutliivick Fiuiuly.) 

the Union Landing a pottery had Ijeen established 
before the close of the eighteenth century. The rela- 
tive importance of the landings in the freighting busi- 
ness changed from time to time, but the Upper Land- 
ing soon became the most important of all, on account 
of the water power afiforded by the Fall Kill and the 
increasing importance of the ferry. By 1800, or soon 
afterwards, there were two mills in the neighborhood, 
a general store and probably two freighting firms. 
The Hoft'mans, as we have seen, were there before 
the Revolution, then Robert I^. Livingston of Cler- 
mont came into possession of a mill and landing there. 
By deed dated April ist, 1800, he sold to Martin Hoff- 
man, Isaac Hoffman and Robert Hoffman, "of the 
town of Poughkeepsie," property "including dock and 
storehouse known as Poughkeepsie L'pper Landing." 
A blacksmith shop and a dwelling house, "now pos- 
session of John Starr and Joseph Bowman," are also 
included. 



The ( lakley family became interested in the indus- 
tries at the Upper Landing soon after 1800, when 
Jesse (Jakley moved into Poughkeepsie from Beek- 
man. Ueorge Peters Oakley, Thomas Jefferson Oak- 
ley and John Oakley were his sons. Jesse Oaklev & 
Son had been in business since April 17th, 1802, "two 
doors west of the hay scales" (the hay scales at one 
time stood on the site of the Phoenix Hose Co.'s 
house), but dissolved jjartnership September 30, 1807, 
and on the same date George P. Oakley advertised the 
formation of a partnership with Martin, Robert H., 
Isaac H., and Abraham Hoffman, "in stirring, 
freighting, ferrying, &c.," at the L'pper Landing. The 
firm name was George I'. ( )akley & Co. ( )n the 
same date also Martin Hoft'man & Co. advertised to 
pay cash for rye and wheat at their "new mill." This 
mill was probably the upper mill. In a deed nf prop- 
erty from Martin. Robert, Isaac and Al)raham Hoff- 
man to George P. Oakley September ifuh. 1807, a 
new mill, an old mill, and a plaster mill are men- 
tioned. James Reynolds, referred to in a deed from 
the Hoft'mans and Oakle\-, in 18 10. as "of the village 
of Poughkeepsie, shipcarpenter," was probably there 
before that time and soon afterwards entered into 
partnership with Aaron Innis in the freighting busi- 
ness. All of these old Upper Landing families were 
in partnerships with each other at various times and 
l^roperty was transferred back and forth among them. 
]!y 181 5 there were two .grist mills, a plaster mill, a 
saw mill and a nail factory, all using water power 
from the Fall Kill. The old .\rnold chair factory 
building was built for a nail factory about this time, 
by George 1'. ( )akley. who also built the large house, 
now generally known as the William C. Arnold house. 
It a])pears. however, that there was a still earlier nail 
factory in the same neighborhood, for June 1 ith, 
1805, \'oice Hinckley and Frederick Pennoyer atlver- 
tised cut nails for sale "at the house of V. Hinckley 
in Market Street, or at their Xail Manufactory, at 
Hoffman's Landing." Y. Hinckley's house was also 
advertised as a tavern, known as "The Foul Anchor," 
and situated about midway between Cannon and 
Church Streets, on the east side of Market. 

Otiikr M.\.\ri-.\cTURixc. Lvol'STries. 

Only a little way up the Fall Kill was the impor- 
tant woolen factory of George Booth, who built what 
was afterwards called Pelton's Pond, and is saiil to 
have brought from England the first wool carding 
machinery ever used in this country. .\n advertise- 
ment in the Political Barometer, May 14th, 1803, 
states that "The works are erected near the bridge 
on the road leading to Hoffman's Landing." July 3r(l 



8-t 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSJE 



oi thf same year Mr. liootli inhinned his patrons that 
"he is now erecting machines at Wappings Creek near 
Mr. Meiser"s Mill and will be ready to receive wool 
abont tile middle of this month." When the embargo 
and the \\ ar of 1812 \n'A a stop to all foreign importa- 
tion the factory in Ponghkeepsie was nmch enlarged 
to manufacture a considerable line of finished woolen 
goods. ^Ir. I'.ooth received first prize at the State fair 




The George Booth House. 



"Dutchess Cotton Manufactory" and asked for ten or 
twelve men acquainted with w'eaving, but it is not 
clear whether these men were to be employed in the 
fact<iry or outside. S/^afford's Gazctecr, 1813, says 
there were 50 looms in families, in the town of 
Poughkeepsie, "which produce 20,000 yards yearly 
of cloth for connnon clothing." It has been stated that 
no cotton factory in the United States is known to 
have done both s])inning and weaving under one roof 
until 1813. 

Among the outlying factories was a nail factory 
established at Hyde Park as early as 181 3 by Hunting 
Sherrill and Henrv Miller, and Spaflford gives the 
names of a number of little manufacturing hamlets 
in the town of Poughkeepsie, not now- in existence. 
He says there were fourteen grain mills in the town, 
showing that the County then raised much more grain 
than now. Four, or possibly five of these mills were 
in the village, and most of the others were along the 
\\'appingers or Casper Kills, with one, still in exist- 
ence, at the month of the Speckcn Kill. 

The first iron foundrx- of \\hich I have found any 
record in Poughkeepsie. was advertised as "now cum- 



in i(Sii for the best woolen cloth manufactured in the 
State. His residence, in which his son, the late Oliver 
H. Booth was born, is still in good preservation, op- 
posite St. Peter's Church. His second wife was Maria 
\'assar, a sister of Matthew \'assar. Some of the 
Booth factory buildings remained until a recent 
period. 

Xot far from the Booth Mill I'ond, and also using 
the Fall Kill water power, was a thriving cotton factory 
established about iSi i by Davi(P and Benjamin 
.•\rnold. This was called The Eagle Factory in Janu- 
ary, 1S15. when the ])r(iiirietors advertised to '"furnish 
cotti n varn for forty looms during the season which 
they wish to put out to weave at liberal prices." .\p- 
parentlv at this time the factory did only spinning. 
During the cold winter of 181 2 it is said that cotton 
was brought to Poughkeepsie by teams overland from 
the South at a cost of 60 cents a pound. The building, 
partly of stone and partly of brick, is still standing at 
the end of Charles Street. 

Above the Arnold factory was Parker's grist mill. 
Iniilt in 1806 on the east side of Washington Street, 
and still further up stream the mills at Smith Street, 
afterwards know^n as The Red Mills. 

There was also a cotton factory at Manchester, 
established by Samuel Slee. Dec. 5th, 1814. Benjamin 
Herrick advertised yarn for sale, made at Slee's 

iGrandfatber of Ex-Mayor CharU's N. .Arnold— See Ap- 
pendix. 




T/w Olil Arnold Cotton Faetoiy. 

pleted and ready for operation." Nov. gth. 1814, by 
David Phillijjs and Sith Howard, who called it the 
"Poughkeepsie Hot Air l-'urnace." It was "near the 
corner of Washington and Main Streets where they 
intend casting iron wari', machinery," etc. 

.\ neighboring Main Street industry is described 
in the following advertisement: 

For safe THAT \ AFFABLE TAXXERY 

I'lelonging to the subscriber, in the village of Pough- 
keepsie. 

Situate in Main Street, a few rods we.st of the 
Market. The works are judiciously arranged and suf- 
ficienth- large for the em])loyment of a handsome capi- 
tal. — The buildings are large and convenient forming 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEBPSIE 



85 



a square on the north and west sides two stories high, 
and one-hundred and thirty-four feet in length and well 
calculated for the accommodation of the works, all in 
good repair. Between one and two thousand skins 
may be taken fresh from the market annuall\- at a 
reasonable rate, and hidt-s in pro])ortion. Hudson's 
river running within half a n;ilc will always suppl}' 
any quantity nf bark. The above works being 
withciut a rival in this populous and growing town 
renders the situation truly enviable. The terms will 
be liberal and payments made easy — possession given 
the tirst of March next, and if not then sold will bo 
rented. The advanced age of the subscriber having 
induceil liim to relinquish the business. 

Also for sale — Three or four Building Lots ad- 
joining the above which are well calculated for the es- 
tablishment of either a Brewery, Distillery, Soapboil- 
ing & Chandlery, or Morocco Manufactory, there 
being on the premises a never failing spring of the 
best water, sufficient to supply any or all of the above 
branches of business. Any person inclining to employ 
a capital in any of the above lucrative branches of 
business, will do well to call and view 

EbEnezek Badgek. 
June 2. 1807. 

Badger's tannery is shown i>n the iji/j map at the 
northwest corner of Alain and Washington Streets. 
His name has been several times mentioned in preced- 
ing pages. He was a prominent citizen, and lived 
in a pleasant house, surrounded by a garden famous 
for its lilacs and other flowers, where the City Mall 
now stands. The tannery passed into the ban Is of 
John Gary of Troy, and a few years later David lioyd 
came there as a lioy from Amenia, to learn the trade. 
Mr. Pioyd afterwards purchased the tannery and lived 
in a house which stood on what is now the corner of 
'Washington Street and Lafayette Place. This house, 
in which his son. the late John G. Bo\t1 was born, is 
still standing, but has been tin"ned half around to face 
the newer street. 

The \'.\ss.\k I'>rewi:kv. 

The reference in the tannery advertisement to a 
s])ring and site for a brewery indicates the source of 
water sujiply for the \'assar Brewery. James Vassar 
came to the neighborhood of Poughkeepsie before 
i/yS from England, and on January 4th. 1803, inserted 
an advertisment in the Political Barometer s'tating that 
he had completed his brewery and was ready to supply 
the people of Poughkeepsie with ale. etc. The location 
of this lirewery is n(.)t definitely known. It may have 
been in the rear of tiie old \'an Kleeck house, or it nia\ 
have been on the site of the later N'assar Street 
Brewery. Mr. \'assar seems to have lieen doing con- 
siderable business in 1807 when he published the fol- 
lowing 



Notice. 
The subscriber wants to make a contract with some 
];erson who will agree to supply him with three thou- 
sand bushels of coals annually for a luuiiber of years. 
.Vll kinds of hard wood burned into coals will answer 
his jnirpose. 

Ja.mes Vassar. 
PougId<eepsie, Aug. 18. 1807. 

A new brewery, according to Mr. Lossing's "Vas- 
sar College and Its Founder," was built in 1809 in Vas- 
sar Street. This was burned May loth, 181 1, and the 
fire was reported as follows in the Journal of Wednes- 
day, May 15th: 

FIRE — .\bout one o'clock on Saturday last ihe 
lirewery of Mess. \'assar in this village was discover- 
ed to be on fire. The alarm was immediately given and 
the citizens assembled with great alacrity. The build- 
ings were already so completely enveloped in flames 
as to render in a measure unavailing the utmost exer- 
tions of the citizens to save them. .\ consideralile 
quantity of .Me and some other property was saved, 
but the buildings were entirely consumed. The loss 
is estimated at 13 or $14,000. We understand the 
liroperty was insured for $10,000. 

Mr. Lossing says that Mr. \^assar had no insur- 
ance, and that he met with other losses of property 
at about the same time, in addition to the loss of his 
eldest son. John Guy X^assar. who in attempting to save 
some hops at the bottom of a vat among the ruins , 
two days after the fire, was suffocated by carbonic 
acid gas. It appears ].>robable, however, from an ad- 
vertisement dated Dec. 4th, 1810, of the dissolution of 
the jiartnership of James Vassar & Co.. that James 
\'assar may have retired from the lirewing business 
before this fire, for persons having open accounts 
were "requested to settle them with John G. and M. 
N'assar." James \'assar spent his last years on a farm 
a little north of the village and his second son. Mat- 
thew, made a new start. According to the accounts 
given by Lossing and others he sought the help of his 
hrother-in-law. George Booth, who loaned him money 
and gave him the use of his dye house as a temporary 
brewer}. Three barrels of ale were made at a brew- 
ing and Mr. N'assar carried it around to his customers. 
He then rented a basement room in the new Court 
House for a saloon and is said to have been the first 
to introduce oysters to Poughkeepsie. In January, 
1812, the business was advertised under the firm name 
of "M. Vassar & Co.." but with no indication of the 
name of Mr. N'assar's partner. July 14th. 1813. 
Thomas Purser and Nl. N'assar informed the public 
that the\- had entered into ])artnership "and that they 
are now rebuilding tile Brewery in this village, * * 

wiiich tlu'\- intend to jiave in operation the ensuing 
tall." .Nlr. Purser was an Englishman of considerable 



86 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIB. 



fortune and doubtlcs.- furnished the capital, hut (hd not 
remain loni;- in the l)usiness. f(ir im June lolh. iSi5.tlie 
Poufrlikceiisie papers contained a notice that lie had 
sold his interest to J. M. and N. Conklin. jun. The 
X'assar brewers was not \ et making any fortunes but 
it was on the road to prosperitx. 

Dkvki.oi'inc-. a BusiNiiss Ckxtki:. 

Althonj^h new streets were laid out in the territory 
between the Post Road an<l the river, that section re- 
mained open fields with only a few strai^iilini;- houses 
along the the older roads for many \ears, while on the 
hill the villai;e was growing more compact. Soon 
after 1800 it was settled that Main Street rather than 
Market would become the chief Inisiness street. The 
former was gaining, though still mostlx a residence 
street, with a garden and the usual village .grou]) of 
barns and sheds about each house. Gradually the 
lower floors of the old houses were converted into 
shops or stores, their i)roprietors living in the ujjper 
stories and in the rear rooms. A few of these old 
houses remain and in one of them the same business is 
carried on that was established there iluring this period 
— the business of Duliois Brothers at 321 Main Street. 
An adverti-sement in the Poiighkccpsic Journal in 
Xoveniber. 1814, states that X. Conklin has removed 
to "the store lately occupied by Paul Schenck, two 
doors east from Jesje Oakley in Main Street.'" -\ part 
of the present building was evidentl}- the old Schenck 
house, Iniilt in the eighteenth century. The business 
had Ix'en started a t\'w years earlier by Nathan and 
Mulford Conklin. and remained in the partial posses- 
sion of their descendants until Nathan Trowbridge 
I'loyd retired a few years ago. 'J'he firm became 
Conklin & I'.owne (James ISowne) in the 30V and then 
I'lowne and Trowbridge ( Stei)hen 1'.. Trowbridge and 
afterwards Nathan Conklin Trowbridge). Several 
other business establishments of the present date from 
tliis jieriod and two of them are still conducted 1)\ the 
same family. The \'an Kleeck Iiat business is the old- 
est. It was founded by 'i'ennis \ an Kleeck in 1791), 
and in i<So8 was renio\eil to a location very nt-ar the 
])resent as shown b\ the following aiK'ertisement in tlu- 
Journal: 

Ti:uMS Van Ki.kix'k. 

Informs his friends and the pul)lic that he has re- 
moved his Hat Manufactory to the house formerl\ 
occupied b\' .Nicholas Power, four doors east of the 
Hotel. 

I'oughkeei)sie. .May. J. iSoS. 

The hats made at this time were described as "Gen- 
tleman anil Ladies lU'aver. Castor and Koram Mats." 



This establishment in July, 1853, was removed "three 
doors west," and from this combination of advertise- 
ments we are able to determine just where Nicholas 
Power i)rinted the Puii<^hkccpsic Journal and also 
w here the Poughkeepsie post office w"as located. 

The following note appended to an advertisement 
of a partnership with John Field tells of the beginning 
of a business still in the same family, though not 
conducted continuou.-^ly by its members. 

N. 11. George Halliwell presents his respects to 
the public, and informs them: that from his thorough 
knowledge of the Watch and Clock making business, 
il will be much to the advantage of those who want 
Clocks. Watches, or repairs, to apply to him, having 
sir\eil his apprenticeship, and worked in some of the 
first sho]js in England, where business was con- 
ducted on a very extensive scale, has had a superior 
o|)portunity to most workmen in this country of per- 
fecting himself in general and detached branches. 
Poughkeepsie, May 10. \?<(^C^. 

.\mong other business men advertising during this 
period were David B. Lent. "Ladies' and Gentlemen's 
Saddles. Coach I^ace. Feathers, &c.. iS;c. :" IvConard 
Daxis and ^\ alter Cunningham, partnership in the dry 
goods Inisiness, Alay J,^. 1814: Isaac Doty. Jr. re- 
moved. .\pril 12. 1814. "to the brick Ijuilding form- 
erly occu])ied by Joseph C. Dean two doors east of the 
Post r)fifice;" .\driance & Cook, clock and watch 
makers, "five d(5ors east of Potter's book store ;" 
J. H. Cunningham, "corner of Alain and Liberty 
Street and directly opposite P. I'otter's book store,'' 
Nov. 8. 1814, I this is the first mention I have seen 
of Lihertx Street); James Mills, cabinet maker 
.\(.iv. 21). 1813. "o])])osite vStonii and Wilson's:" P)arnes 
iH: Willoughby, drugs, etc. : Cornelius B. Swartwout 
and Richard N'anderburgh (dis.solved partnership Sept. 
2,^. 1814). boots and shoes, opposite the Court House: 
Jeremiah Martin, boots and shoes, "four doors east of 
the hotel:" Thomas L. Djivies. hardware. "Brick store. 
fi\e <loors east of the hole! :" M. & \\. Bailey, hat man- 
ulaclurers. succeeding John llobson. May 13, 1814: 
' 'liver llolden. fi.sh : K. Metzler, ladies' tailor: Richard 
S. lialding and Charles !'>. Tallmadge (dissolved i)art- 
iiershi]) Oct. 20. i8i_^l: P. Fveritt and /ei)haniah 
Pells ( dissolved partnershi]) .\])ril. 1814). b'.lias Triv- 
cti was in the drug business on the west corner of 
Main ,ind Mecbaiiie Street and Petiiiuiiin llerrick. on 
the opposite corner in dry goods, etc. 

A few sm;dl maut'actnring concerns besides tilo.se 
meiitione<l were lobe found on .M.iin Street. ( )u Sept. 
12th. 181)3. I'- ''^- -Maison and others complained t.) 
the village Irnslees thai "Ger.inl S. Sloan has erected 
a so;i|) and L'amlle mamifaelorx in a certain section 
of .M;iin .Street that the ingredients used in such 
nianu factor} includes a certain quantitx of putrid 




TUNIS VAN KLEECK. 
Iloi II Juiui I. ijjs ; Died September 1, jSj/ : Great giandson of tlie first Battiis Win Kleeek. 



88 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 



animal sul)staiicc wliii'li cm hcins; detached t'roin the 
mas.-; impregnates the air with noxious and ottensive 
effluvia and also that he from time to time discharges 
into the water ways of the Turnpike Road large 
quantities of Salt L\e to the great annoyance of the 
neighhorhot)d." 

Xearly all the business men mentioned were on 
Main Street, but -Market Street had a number of 
shojis and several small hotels or taverns. The busi- 
ness of the village, of course, nearly all came from 
the farmers, who drove into town w ith their jjroduce 
to be shipped to New York. Many of them came 
from long distances and had to stay over night, which 
created a demand for taverns. The Poughkeepsie 
Hotel was apparently called Baldwin's Hotel in 1803. 
and I am not sure that it was ever advertised under 
the first name until it had been rebuilt about 1829 
and came under the management of A. S. Hatch. 
Ebenezer Baldwin was the proprietor until its pur- 
chase in 1804 by a committee of Anti-Federal or 
Rei)ublican politicians,' heatled by George Clinton, 
for a political headquarters. Then, or soon after, Gar- 
wood Cunningham, father of Walter Cunningham, 
took charge and the hotel became known as Cunnin^- 




Caiiin»i Slirrt from l.ihcrly urst in /.s'-^. Old Diitdn-s^ 
Hold on the ri« hi. 

ham's. The I'orbus I louse, 1 think, was not built 
until after 1815. but Stephen Hendricksen's tavern 
on the same site was an important place of refresh- 
ment and entertainment. Nearly all the taverns an<l 
hotels of the i)eriod were built with verandas across 
the whole front, the larger ones with two-story ver- 
andas. .\maziali Blakeslie ailvertised the Farmers 
Hotel, in June. iSofi. "in Cannon Street opjiosite the 

' I'or a lisl of tlie nanK'< frnni deed see Appciidi.\. 



.\cadem\." and in 1811 N. C. Mintm'n anmuniced the 
opening of the Dutchess Hotel, in Cannon Street, 
corner of Mechanic. The last mentioned is still stand- 
ing, and still preserves part of its verandas. It was 
built by Benjamin Herrick, who doubtless owned the 
land all the wa\- through to Main Street, where his 
store was. There were a number of taverns of the 
old tyjie on the east side of Market Street, one about 
opposite Stephen Hendrickson's, another on the 
north corner of Cannon, and a third, already men- 
tioned as kept by Voice Hinckley, between Cannon 
and Church. The building afterwards known as the 
Franklin House, on the corner of Main and W'ash- 
ington, was possibly built by this time, but the hotel 
on the corner of Mill and Washington Streets, after- 
wards known as "The Northern Hotel," was erected 
later. 

Some Porui,.\K AmusicmEnts. 

.\n interesting enterprise in 1806, was the e.xhi- 
l)ition for several weeks of a real African Lion. "This 
noble animal," says the advertisement in the Political 
Barometer, "is between three and four feet high, 
measures nine feet from the nostrils to the tail, and is 
of a beautiful dun colour, and when he stands on his 
fail is nine feet high. He is fifteen years old and 
weighs six hundretl weight. His legs and tail are 
thicker than those of a common sized ox. He was 
cmght in the woods of Goree in .Vfrica when a 
Whelp. * * '■'- It is said by those who ha\e seen Lions 
in the Tower of London and nther jiarts. that he is 
reall\ worthy of the contemplation of the curious." 
The advertisement also includes the following: 

T.\KE NoTlClv 

dn the 14th da\ of ( )ctober next a 

GR.W'D BAIT 

Will take place between this Lion and 6 Bears 

and IJ Bull-Dogs, in Cajit. Hendrickson's large 

lielil. where am])le accommodations will be pre- 

li.ii'eil for s])ectators.— .\<lmittance on that day, 

for grown jjcrsons One Dollar, for Children 25 

cents. 

* * * * * * * 

\. !'.. The subscriber will give a generous 
l)rice fur (> Be.nrs delivered to him in Pough- 

Joiix .\i<iii:x. 
I'liugbki'elisie. Sept. 2f\ lS(/>. 

Willi s;i\s thai our ancestors were so good that 
the\ did not not k'uow how to enjov themselves?' .\ 
few \cars Liter. Pongbla'epsie bad what w;is called 
a theatre. Se|)leniber 1. iSu. an ;idvertisement a])- 
pe;ired in The I'niii^hLwpsir Joiiniiil as follows: "The 
imiilic ;ire resjiecl fully informed that the Theatre 



HISTORY OP POUGHKEEPSIE 



89 



wliich is huildiiiij in Cliurcli Street will be ready by 
I''ri(la_\- next, Sept. 5th. when will be presented Kotze- 
Inie's Celebrated play of The Strantjer or Misanthropy 
iS: I\e])enlence with the ]\Iusieal farce of the Sprites 
(if Laurel. r>f)x $1. Pitt 'J'^ cts." A few days later. 
Sept. r4ih, the play Guerre Uuverte was announced, 
"after which an entire new piece in one act written 
for the occasion by a gentleman of this town called 
The Naval Column or the Glory of Columbia's Tars, 
interspersed with singing. Dancing &c in honor of 
iiur great naval victories." George I'larnwell was the 
proprietor. 

IS.VNKS, Schools and Incorpiikati-;!! Com i'axiics. 

Soon after the incorporation of the village there 
was enough business in Poughkeepsie to create a de- 
mand for banking facilities, and accordingly a branch 
of the Manhattan Bank ..f Ww York was established 



William Talier. Peter R. Maison, Henry A. Livingston, 
Levi McKeen. Thomas Nelson, Abram G. Storm, and 
Ezra Thompson, Jr., were named as the commissioners 
to effect the organization in Poughkeepsie. Guy Hyde 
was the tirst cashier and Levi IMcKeen was probably 
the first president. Peter Everitt, son of Richard 
Everitt, became a heavy stockholder at an early period, 
and George B. Evertson was one of the early presi- 
dents. 

Levi McKeen was the postmaster of Poughkeep- 
sie from 1802 to i8ig. and the post office was then 
on the south side of ALain ."street, just east of Liberty 
Street. He is said also to have been a private banker 
at one time and a good stury is told of how he stopped 
a run on the bank. Tie annoimeed that a wagon load 
of s]X'cie wmilil arrive tnmi Xew ^'^)rk on a certain 
steamer, and sure emmgh in due time a wagon filled 
with small kegs droxe up f n mi the steamboat landing 






Sl^ 



I'HOTO BY O. N. SKAMAN. 



^7 . 1,.- If. -■ . 





ux,.. 



@&:^^^v^ '/ /t^ 



mM 








/•\ii-siiiii/r Mii/.l/r /)is/ri,i Hank Xo/f 



in the brick building which had lieen the residence of 
Theiiiliinis Bailey, (in the corner of Market and Can- 
non Streets. As this was not a purely local institution 
the records do not appear to show just when it was 
started, but it was here before 181 1 as a newspaper 
reference shows (see Appendix). At that time its 
president was James Tallmadge, Jr. George 1>. Evert- 
son is said to have been its first president and Daniel F. 
Coolidge and Guy Hyde were among its cashiers. It 
was assessed on various properties as late as 1831. 
There was a demand for a Dutchess County Bank 
as early as January, 1811, but when the application 
for a charter came before the Legislatin-e the ]>lan 
was changed to make it a Middle District liank, with 
a branch at Kingston. The charter was passed 
March 22(1. t8ii .providing for twenty-one directors. of 
whom foinieen were re(|uire(l to be residents of 
Ihltcliess Countx and seven of LUster. Theron Rudd. 



to the hank. Two men struggled into the building 
through the crowd of an.xious depositors and note 
holders carrying one of the kegs, which at the proper 
moment slipped from their fingers and burst open, 
scattering coins in every direction. This demonstra- 
tion of wealth satisfied the peojile, but it was after- 
wards reported that all the other kegs were filled 
with nails. 

Poughkeepsie was already at this time Ia\ing the 
foundation for its reputation as an educational center. 
The Academy was an excellent school for its time, 
and a number of private scIkxiIs were advertised in 
the newspapers from time to time. "The Poughkeep- 
sie Boarding School for Young Toadies" was advertised 
as early as 1801 by AL 1',. and A. Sketchley. and at- 
tained considerable reputation. I am not sure of its 
location. 1>iit have been told that it was in a frame 
building which stood on Market Street near the cor- 



90 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 



ner of Church, where the Hon. John Thomi^soii after- 
wards built liis residence. There was at any rate 
a building there which was used as a school for many 
years, and some people are now living who obtained 
their early education in it. .V Dutchess Seminary on 
Market Street, taught by Rev. John Phillips, was ad- 
vertised in 1806. That the residents of the little village 
were progressive and desirous of keeping themselves 
well informed at an early period is also shown by 
the following notice in the Journal of July 15th, 1806. 

POUGHKEEPSIK LiBK.ARY. 

The Proprietors of the Poughkeepsie Library 
are ref[uested to attend their annual meeting on 
Thursday the 17th inst. at 4 o'clock in the after- 
noon at the Court House, for the purpose of elect- 
ing their Trustees for the ensuing year — and 
adopting such measures as may be necessary for 
the benefit of the institution. 

Petkr R. M.mso.v, 

Librarian. 

Long lists of new books were advertised in the 
newspapers and a considerable number of books were 
])ublished by the Poughkeepsie printers. March nth, 
1 814, the Lancaster School Society was incorporated, 
with John Reed (rector of the Episcopal Church), 
Cornelius C. Cuyler (pastor of the Dutch Church), 
Leonard Lewis, William Emott, James Wilson, George 
Bloom and Paraclete Potter as trustees. This school 
was in line with the latest educational fad of the 
day, the plan being to have the older pupils instruct 
the younger. Its building was on Church Street, on 
the same lot mentioned in the 171M deed.-; as the 
"school-house lot" and now occupied by School No. 2. 

The following notice published Tuesday, Septem- 
ber 23d, 1806, shows something of the beginnings of 
an important institution. 

DLiTClIl'.SS MEDICAL SOCIETY. 

.\t a large ;ui<l respectable meeting of the 
Physicians of the County of Dutchess, at Cun- 
ningham's Hotel, Sept. 20th, 1806, agreeable to 
l)ublic notice. 

Resolved, That the Physicians present do 
form themselves into a society pursuant to "an 
act to incorporate Medical Societies for the \i\\v- 
pose of regulating the practice of Physic and 
Surgerv in this state" passed the 4lh nf \i>ril. 
1806. 

This was not the actual beginning of the society, 
but was not many years from it. .\t this meeting 
Samuel Piard was elected president, P)cnjamin De 
Lavergne. vice i)resident. Rol)ert Noxon. treasurer, 
and J. Livingston Van Kleeck, secretary. Dr. John 
Thomas was one of the censors for Poughkeepsie. 

.\ Dutchess Countv Insurance Cnmpanx- was in- 



corporated in 1814 with Jesse Oakley, George B. 
Evertson, James Emott, James Tallmadge, Jr., Wil- 
liam Davis, Nathan Myers, Henry A. Livingston. 
Henry Davis, John Brush, Randall S. Street, Para- 
clete Potter, John Forbus and John Radclifife, as its 
first directors. There appears to be no evidence to 
connect this with the later Dutchess County Mutual 
Insurance Company. 

Churches. 

The population of the village of Poughkeepsie 
was 2,(;8i in 1810. and according to Spafford's 
Gazetteer there were in 181 2 seven or eight public 
buildings, five churches and 471 houses and stores. 
Two of the churches, as we have seen, were founded 
before the Revolution, two more, the Methodist and 
Baptist, soon after 1800, and the fifth must have been 
an early Friends' Meeting House on Clover Street, 
said to have been built by Zadock Southwick. There 
appear to be no records of this Meeting House^ but 
it certainly existed at this time. The Quakers had 
long been numerous in Dutchess County and were 
represented in Poughkeepsie by several prominent 
families before 1812, among whom may be mentioned 
Zadock Southwick, Valentine Baker, Levi McKeen, 
David and Benjamin .\rnold. 

The Methodists built their first church about 1805. 
on the east side of Jefferson Street at a point still 
marked by a little abandoned grave-yard. Before this 
time meetings had been held for a year or two in the 
garret of Charles H. Duncomb's house on Main Street, 
(on the site of Luckey, Piatt & Co.'s store"). The first 
church was a building 50 by 40 feet with galleries, 
but. according to \'incent"s "Methotlisni in I'migh- 
keepsie," (]). 15). was left unplastered ab(_)ve the gal- 
leries, until 1814, when Poughkeepsie was for the first 
time made a Methodist station with a settled minister. 
Rev. J. M. Smith. 

The llaptists- cirganized in July. 1807. ;il a meeting 
held at tin- house (if George I'arker on Washington 
Street, at which (u'oi-ge I'arker, William Goss, John 
I'orbus. John llarbottle. William Young, Isaac Wad- 
dell. ^.^•nianlin Honker, lienjamin Fuller. Jonathan 
Xew house, Ann \'assar. Abigail C.M-nish. ivly Bull- 
more, Ruth Honker, Eleanor Waddell. Sarah Goss 
and Naomi Burton were enrolled. Rev. h'rancis Way- 

'Mrs, \\'illi;iin S. Morgan and otliers renionilit-r seeing or 
lieariuf,' of this liuilding. See also Dntchess County History, 
]). 4Jj; als(5. (as to a1)scn«' nf reconls"), D.-iily fviglo. July 
13, 189.- 

SRaplisl records arc complete and well preserved, owing 
to the care of Rev. Rnfiis Babcock, tlirec times pastor of the 
church. .\ history of tlie church prepared by him was pnb- 
lislied liy Piatt it Ranney in 1S41. 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 



91 



land was called as pastor and during his four years of 
work a church was built on the site of the present Bap- 
tist Church in Mill Street, the lot having been donated 
by Col. James Tallmadge. 

Newspapers and Politics. 

From November loth, 1801. there have always 
been at least two newspapers in Poughkeepsie. At that 
date, and probably using the press of the earlier 
American Fanner, Jesse Buel and Nathaniel Joyner 
started a paper called The Guardian, which wa.; a 
pronoiniced supporter of Jefferson, then president. 
Apparently the patronage of this paper was not very 
strong for it went through many changes of hands 
and several changes of name, as will appear. June 
Sth. 1X02, Joyner's interest was purchased by Isaac 
.Mitchell and the paper came out as The Political 
Barometer. . Mitchell had been connected with the 
American Farmer and was evidently a man of ability, 
though apparently unfortunate. Little is known about 
him personally, except that he went to Albany after 
he had sold the Barometer and became editor of The 
Republican Crisis. Early in 1811 he seems to have re- 
turned to Poughkeepsie. He was the authoi of 
".\i.ONZO AND Melissa," which has recently been de- 
scribed as "one of the most jjopular novels ever pub- 
lished in America."' but it is doubtful if he ever re- 
ceived any profit from it himself. The book was 
originally ])ublishe(l in Poughkeepsie by Joseph Nel- 
son, with the title "The Asylum, or Alonzo and 
Melissa, an .\merican tale founded on fact by Isaac 
Mitchell." It came out in October, 181 1, and was 
advertised for a tew week.^ in the Barometer, and 
for a year or more in the .foiinial. but I have not 
been alile to tind an\ otlur local rcferenc to it. In 
1824 it was re[niblished wilhoul tlir title "-\sylum" 
and without the introduction, with Uaniel Jackson, 
Jr., nameil as the author. Then its popularit}' began 
and it ran through many editions. Jackson receiving- 
all the credit. 

Jes.se Buel, too, was a man of ability and <lestined 
to more sticcess. He and Mitchell for a tinio published 
both the Barometer in Poughkeepsie and The Plebeian 
in Kingston. In 1805 they dissolved partnership, 
.Mitchell retaining the Poughkeepsie newspaper and 
lluel taking The Plebeian. Buel afterwards went to 
.\lbany and became the first editor of The Ari^us. 
He was candidate for governor in 183!^ against 
^^'illiam L. ^Marc}'. 

In their opening editorial in the Barometer 
Mitchell and Buel declared among other things. 



'Edward B. Reed in New York E\ 
1904. 



Post, Dec. 10, 



their determination to "hold up to jjublic ex- 
ecration whatever shall appear to aim at aristocratic 
influence upon the understanding, the actions, or the 
possessions of the people. * * * We shall applaud 
plain and simple manners even if discovered in our 
chief magistrate." 

Not long after this the Federalists became divided 
into factions and the Republicans obtained control of 
Dutchess county. The Barometer, May 6th, 1806, says 
"In this town the Republican ticket succeeded over 
that of the opposition by an average majority of 4 
and 5 to I." The "Clintonians" — supporters of De 
Witt Clinton, then Mayor of New York, — are men- 
tioned as one of the factions of the opposition. 1806 
was a year of general change in the local newspaper 
situation, probably due to party changes. A new 
paper. The Farmer, was started, but so few copies of 
it have been preserved that its political position is not 
clear. Mitchell sold the Political Barometer in 
.Vugust to Thomas Nelson & Son, and the Journal 
also changed hands. Paraclete Potter, who was des- 
tined to become and remain for a long time a leading 
figure in local journalism and politics, was one of the 
new owners, the firm being Bowman, Parsons and 
Potter, which continued until l\Iay 24th, 18x5, when 
Potter came into full control. During this period the 
paper was called The Poughkeep.^ie Journal and Con- 
stitutional Republican, the latter ]iart of the title 
signifying an effort of a branch of the party to shake 
oft" the name Federalist. 

The Jeffersonian supremacy did not last long in 
Dutchess, and in 1808 the county elected to the As- 
sembly "2 Federalists. 2 Clintonians, and 2 Lewisites," 
while James Emott, Federalist, received a majority of 
1,100 for Congress. August 28, 1811, the Political 
Barometer changed hands again, and changed its name 
for a second time, coming out as the Republican Her- 
ald, under tlie management of C. C. .\dams and D. 
Mac Duffee. who refer in their announcement to 
"The county of Dutchess long the sport of disunion 
and for some time past the seat of federal triumphs." 
The same sort of complaint is to be found in every new 
l)aper started as a Republican organ for the next 
twentv-five years, while the Journal, under Potter's 
able management, weathered all the storms and sur- 
vived, w^ithout loss of prestige, even its bitter and 
determined opposition to the War of 1812. 

The war appears to have been unpopular with the 
substantial citizens of Poughkeepsie, but must never- 
theless have aroused considerable enthusiasm among 
the rank and file. There was a repetition of Revo- 
lutionary excitement to some extent, with recruiting 
offices opened, troops passing up and down the river, 
and express riders galloping through the village on 



92 



HISTORY OP P O U G H K n E P S 1 E. 



the Post Road. The Pousj^hkcepsie Fusileeri, a uni- 
formed company, were ordered out early in the strug- 
gle and their "former officers." T. Rudd, J. Brush and 
B. Herrick. gave them a l)ani|uet at Minturn's Hotel. 
In the Republican Herald for Septemher 2, 1812, we 
read : 

"The uniform company of .Artillery and infantry 
of this village, under the command of Capts. Nelson 
and Wilson, in compliance with the orders of the 
Governor, took passage on board the packet on Vn- 
day last for New York. After falling in with the 
companies from Barnegat and Newhurgh and waiting 
the arrival of the governor with the northern com- 
panies on Saturday the whole proceeded together for 
New York. 

The alacrity with which the men composing these 
companies left their families, their homes, and their 
business, will entitle them to the esteem of their fellow 
citizens and the thanks of their countrx." 

These companies, I think, saw no actual fighting. 
but companies of Dutchess County militia were in ser- 
vice on several other occasions, and a considerable 
mimber of volunteers want into the army from Pough- 
keejj.^ie. Randall S. Street and Dr. William Thomas 
were among them, the former returning with the title of 
(^icneral. Dr. Thomas was in the liattle of .\ew Or- 
leans. Some were tloubtless called out b\' the draft, 
which the Journal vigorously denounced as tearing 
men away fnmi the su])])ort of their families to |>rolong 
a war brought on by Jefferson and Aladison for the 
sole i)urpi>.-.e nf increasing the power of their i);irty. 

James luiiott in Congress was equally outspoken 
in his op]iosition to the war, as his speeches printed in 
the Jtiiirual show, but this seems to have caused little 
iiitei"r\iption to his carei'r. for after ser\ing two lernis 
in C'lmgre'-s lie went into tile Assembly fur two terms, 
.•md llun IxTanie county judge. That the Federalist 
(■(lutrol was not shaken as in sn m,-my olliei' jil.-iees. is 
shown by the establishment of auollur Kepublie;m 
])aper, the Obseri'er. a])parently a sjieeial organ nf 
the Tammany faction, sown after the anm uineenunt 
of the treaty of peace in 1815, lis opening editorial. 
M;ireh lotli, contains this h;irrowing i)ieture: 

Ti)iie was, when this i'nb,i]iii\ . dilmled. ;inil Img 
abused County, presented a Ki-[)ul)liean phalan.x to 



the front of its enemies, in an overwhelming majority 
of votes — at once the pride of the friends of the Repub- 
lic, and the terror of its foes. * * * No redeeming 
arm appears stretched forth to snatch this wandering 
prodigal from the error of her ways. * * * It is only 
to the well conducted public journal like the bow on 
the clouds which announces the storm is past, that 
the friends to Republicanism can look for as a pre- 
cursor to the assurement and triumph of their cause. 

Charles 1^. Barnum and Richard Nelson were the 
publishers of this paper. The Republican Herald 
passed into the hands of Stockholm and Brownjohn 
and continued to represent one of the numerous fac- 
tions of the day. It became bitterly opposed to James 
Tallmadge. Jr.. and w-as sued by him for libel in 
1818. It was finalh- discontinued after the election of 
1823. 

Prominent local politicians during this period, be- 
sides those already mentioned, were Thomas J. Oak- 
ley, Surrogate in 1810, elected to Congress in 1813; 
Randall S. Street, district attorney 1810 and again 
1813; David Brooks, three times County Clerk and sev- 
eral times Member of Assembly ; George Bloom, law 
|)artner of James Tallmadge, and Surrogate in 1811 ; 
.\braham Adriance, several times Member of As- 
sembly and State Senator. Theodorus Bailey was per- 
h.qis the most prominent man of the early part of this 
period. He was elected to the United States Senate 
in 1803, but soon afterwards resigned from the Senate 
to become postmaster of New York City, DeWitt 
Clinton resigning the .san:e office at the same time to 
become Mayor. His residence after that, I think, was 
in New York. Thomas J. ( )akley purchased and for 
a l(.ing time lived in the house on the corner of Cannon 
and Market Streets, where I'.ailev had lived. Philo 
Ritggles. whii bt'came .Surrog.'iti.- in 1S13. was another 
prominent man of this time. lie built .about 1800 
the fine house still standing on the west side of Mar- 
ket v'street. which afterwards became the home of 
James Hooker, and is now used ;is an ot'fice building, 
(.eorge I'loom lived on Cannon Street, in a house 
where there is now a \acant lot, next east of the 
George \;m KUnTk hduse I I )r. J. P. \Vilson"s resi- 
<lence). James h'.niott lixcd 1 m .Market Street directly 
opposite Cannon, in tlu' brick building still standing. 




Hon. WILLIAM NELSON. 

A sou of 'f/iojiuu Xr/soii ami hrolhrr oj Joseph Xtison, editors of the "Political 
Barometci-r Williaiii .Wlson -ccas cdmalrd at the Dutchess Couuiy Academy^ 
aud studied laa' iu /lie office of Tlieroii kudd. After adiiiissiou to the bar he 
removed to Peekskill, -a'here he became very prominent. {See .-ippendi.v Jar 
further sl;etch of his career.) 



CHAPTER VI. 



From the Close of the. War of 1812 to the Panic of 1837 — General Tallmadge on Slavery in 
Missouri — Lafayette's Visit — The Lottery — Political Changes — The "Telegraph," The 
"Dutchess Intelligencer" and The "Eagle" — Benson J. Lossing — New Banks — The Lm- 
provement Party^The Whaling Industry and Other Enterprises — The Era of the Steam- 
boat — The Cannon Street Reservoir and the Big Fire of 1836 — The Fire Department — 
New Churches — College Hill and Other Schools — The Real Estate Boom. 



In the year 1815 Poughkeepsie was a vigorous, 
growing village, and during the period covered by 
this chapter was to experience a rapid development, 
culminating in a real estate boom of proportions which 
we are now accustomed to associate only with new 
towns in the West — a boom which left the place laid 
out into streets and lots almost as it is at present. In 
fact it required tlie work of nearly half a century to 
complete the improvements, and build up the streets, 
planned before 1837. 

The years immediately following the treaty of 
peace with England were nevertheless years of falling 
prices, and of considerable depression. The flood of 
foreign importations ruined several thriving local in- 
dustries, including the Booth woolen mills, th; .Arnold 
cotton factory and the Oakley nail factory. There 
was a great scarcity of currency, particularly of small 
change, which caused the printing of shinplasters by 
private firms and even by village corporations. D. & 
B. Arnold of the Eagle cotton factory and the Village 
of Pleasant Valley issued shinplasters in 1815, the lat- 
ter signed by Robert Abbott, which have been preserv- 
ed in local collections. The long continued popular 
reckoning in shillings and pence was partly due to 
the large number of foreign coins' that came into cir- 
culation at all periods of financial depression prior 
to the debasement of subsidiary coinage in 1853. The 
first record book of the \'illage of Poughkeepsie shows 
most of the accounts in dollars and cents, but the cash 
book beginning at the end of the year 1817 is mostly 
in pounds, shillings and pence. 

Before 1820 recovery was in progres.-^ and the vil- 
lage began to reach out for more trade, with an enter- 
prise that suggests the later days of railroad and 
bridge building, as the following entries in the village 
cash book for January 3rd, 1820, show : 

lEagle editorial, "Down with the Pence," April 2nd, 1853 



To Cieorge P. Oakley and others, By 

order of a \'ote of the \'illage for 

iheir expenses in exploring a Route 

for a Turnpike Road West of the 

Shawangunk Mountain to intersect 

the Turn])ike of Lucas Elmendorf 

at or near War War Sink £5: i8s: lod 

To expenses pd G. P. Oakley and others 

to defray expenses for advertising 

for alteration of the Turnpike West 

of the Hudson River for advertising 

in Kingston and Albany papers £2: o: o 

It seems rather extraordinary that the village as 
a corporate body should have been interesting itself 
in roads so far away, but these are by no means the 
only instances. The second entry seems to imply that 
the New Paltz road had already been made a turnpike, 
though Mr. LeFevre, in his History of New Paltz, 
says the turnpike was made after 1830. 

The incorporation of the Poughkeepsie and New 
Paltz Ferry Company in 1819, for the purpose of 
building "a Team Ferry Boat" to take the place of 
the sail ferry, also implies closer connection with 
New Paltz. The company organized in June, 1819, 
and elected Nicholas Thorne, John Green, Gilbert 
Wilkinson, James Reynolds and Henry Elting direc- 
tors. The landing on this side was "between the 
south side of the dock of George P. Oakley and the 
north side of the dock of Martin Hoffman," and on 
the west side of the river "at the dock of Henr}- D. 
Elting." The Team Ferry Boat was the first "horse 
boat" at Poughkeepsie, the motive power furnished by 
two horses in a treadmill, the earlier ferry having been 
a "periauger" or scow, with both sails and oars. Great 
things were expected of the team boat in the way of 
bringing trade to the village from the west, and also 
from the eastward. One of the arguments in its 
favor was that it would bring this way a part of 



96 



HISTORY or POUGHKEEPSIB 



the stream of westward emigration. ( )hi(i wagons, 
it was stated, were frequently seen on the Dutchess 
Turnpike as far west as the second toll gate, whence 
they made their way over rough roads to Fishkill, 
where a team boat had already been established. The 




h'niui/ils lloiist-. huilt hy /alius h'rvitohls near C/'pfr /AiiiiUiiii, 
{aiid/triv). about iSjy. 

sail ferrv was uncertain and inconvenient, and accord- 
ing to a statement made many years later by Nathan 
Gift'ord, would not accommodate more than one or two 
wagons, and was entered from the side. ( )ften the 
horses were unhitched, and tied behind the boat to 
swim across. The team boat, or horse boat, was evi- 
dently successful, for there were two on the route a 
few years later, one sailed by Deyo Elting and the 
other by Henry Ogden. Horse ferries also ran from 
Milton, New Hamburgh and Hyde Park, at a little 
later date. The Milton hor.'^e boat was the last on the 
river and ran until after 1850. 

In i<Sj5 there was another strong efifort to at- 
tract trade from the west side of the river, and com- 
mittees were ap|)ointed to endeavor to make New 
I'altz Landing the teniiinns of a great state road 
which was expected to extend to Bufifalo. The break- 
down of the Fulton & Livingston monopoly of steam- 
boat navigation in 1824 was then also a stimulus to 
river traffic, and in 1830 the horse ferry was super- 
seded by a steam ferry. That was almost at the 
beginning of the period of cx])ansion and speculation. 

The cholera epidemic of 1832 was a serious inter- 
ruption to business, and was long remembered. It 
gave rise to what was probably the first local board 
of health, comjirising the village trustees, together 
with Elias Tri\ett, the druggist, and Dr. William 
Thomas. Ch(iKi;i had been raging in New "S'ork for 
several weeks before it reached Poughkeepsie, and 
had even passed us and broken out in Albany, but 
in the latter part of July a few imported cases were 
reported in the lower ])art of town, and before the 



end of .\ugust the dread disease had claimed about 
eighty victims. A number of families left the village 
in order to escape and never returned. Says the 
IhifcJicss Intelligencer of August 15th: "From Sun- 
day, the 5th, to Saturday, the nth, it seemed to be at 
its worst and the state of things became truly alarm- 
ing. A general gloom seemed to rest upon every 
countenance, business was at a stand, and anxious 
inquiries were constantly made about the cholera." 

Occasionally social events attracted sufficient 
notice in the newspapers of the day to show that 
\oung people enjo3'ed themselves much as they do 
now. In August, 1819, the West Point cadets, two 
luuKlred strong, marched to Albany, and encamped 
for a week at Poughkeepsie, under command of Cap- 
tain John R. Bell. On the evening of August i6th 
a big ball was given in their honor, "which was at- 
tended by about one hundred of the Cadets and 
graced by most of the beauty and fashion of the 
village." 

Gener.m, TAij,M.\nr,K and Slavf.rv" in Mtssouui. 

Politics absorbed a large share of attention, and 
with such men as Thomas J. Oakley and James Tall- 
madge, Jr., as leaders, Poughkeepsie was at the front 
in both State and National matters. The so-called 
"Era of Good Feeling" which the historians tell us 
followed the War of 1812, was not very marked 
in New York State, certainly not in Dutchess 
County, where the Federal Part\ did iiol l)rcak down 
until the time of Jackson. James Tallniadgc. Jr., 
usually called General Tallmadgc, was one of the 
most notable of the representatives of Dutchesss Coun- 
ty in Congress. EkcU-d to fill a vacancy, he at once 
took high rank, and in Frbniar\. i8if). when the 
question of the ;idmission of Missouri as a state came 
i:p. it was he who nioxed the amendment that pre- 
(•i])itateil the first great debate over the extension of 
slavery. The amendment provided : 

"Th;it the further introduction of slavery or in- 
\oIuntary servitude be prohibited, except for the pun- 
ishment of crime, whereof the party .shall have been 
fully convicted, and that all children born within the 
said State, after the admission thereof into the L^nion, 
shall be free at the age of twenty-five years." 

The debate started by this amendment was a he;ited 
one and accompanied on the part of the Southern 
re])resentatives by threats of disunion. Replying to 
the opponents of the amendment, who included the 
s])eaker of the House, Henry Clay, Mr. Tallmadge, on 
February i6th, used these words, as reported in Ben- 
ton's Abridsfement:' 



'Benton's Abridgement of Debates in Congrcs.s, Vol. VI, 
p. 350. See also p. 333 and note. 



HISTORY OP P U G H K n E r S I n . 



97 



"Sir, if a dissolution of tlie Union must take place, 
let it be so ! If civil war, which gentlemen so threaten 
must come, I can only say, let it come 1 My hold on 
life is probably as frail as that of any man who now 
hears me : but while that hold lasts, it shall be devoted 
to the service of my country — to the freedom of man. 
If blood is necessary to extinguish any fire which 1 
have assisted to kindle, I can assure gentlemen, while 
I regret the necessity, 1 shall not forbear to contribute 
my mite. Sir, the violence to which 'gentlemen have 
resorted on this subject will not move my purpose, nor 
drive me from ni}- place. 1 have the fortune and 
honor to stand here as the representative of freemen, 
who possess intelligence to know their rights, who 
have the spirit to maintain them. Whatever might 
be my own private sentiments on this subject, stand- 
ing here as the representative of others no choice is 
left me. I know the will of my constituents, and 
regardless of consequences, I will avow it ; as their 
representative I will proclaim their hatred of slavery 
in every shape ; as their representative here I will hold 
my stand, until this floor, with the constitution of my 
country which supports it, shall sink beneath me." 

The Tallmadge amendment was adopted by the 
House, but rejected by the Senate, and the controversy 
was not settled until the next year — by the famous 
Missouri Compromise. From a local standpoint the 
question is, did Mr. Tallmadge correctly represent the 
prevailing opinion of the people of Dutchess when in 
the course of this noble speech he proclaimed "their 
hatred of slavery in every shape?" He had already 
been defeated for re-election to Congress by Randall 
S. Street eight months before he made the speech 
(elections were held in May until 1828) but that was 
simply because Street was a Federalist and Tall- 
madge a Tammany Republican or Democrat. His 
anti-slavery speech was publisbeil in full in tlu' 
the Dutchess Obscnrr of April "th, which also copied 
frcm other newspapers, including tlie A'rxo ]'ork 
i'liliiiiihiaii, various notices of approval of his action, 
but made apparently no comment of its own. I can- 
not find that the Federalist organ, the Journal, made 
any reference whatever to the speech, or to the Gen- 
oral's attitude on the admission of Missouri. The 
investigation of General Jackson's conduct in the 
Seminole War monopolized attention. The Rcf^ub- 
lican Herald abused Tallmadge roundly, but not be- 
cause of this action, so far as one can tell from the 
answers to its articles in the Observer. (No copies of 
the Herald for that year have been found). General 
Tallmadge was nominated by the Clintonian faction 
for the State senate in the spring of 1819, and was 
beaten, which seems to show at least that hatred of his 
constituents for slavery was not yet a moving political 
force. His vote in the town of Poughkeepsie and also 
in Dutchess was considerably larger, however, than 



that of his colleague, or than that received by cither 
of the successful candidates, but wa& smaller than 
either of the Federalist candidates received. The vote 
oi the county was: Federalists — Philip J. Schuyler, 
1.042, James Morris, 808: Clintonians — James Tall- 
madge, Jr., 754, Pierre Van Courtland, 527; Anti- ' 
Clintonians — Peter R. Livingston 680, John Town- 
send, 605. As senators were then elected on general 
tickets in large districts and Dutchess had been at- 
tached to the southern district, with New York and the 
Long Island Counties since 1815, the Federalist vote 
of the river counties was overwhelmed by the anti- 
Clintonian vote of New York. 

In 1820 the pendulum swung away from the Fed- 
eralists and the Observer, May 3d, said: "Dutchess 
County has nobly done its duty. This is the first time 
that Republican Assemblymen have been elected in 
this county in fifteen years." At the same election 
the county gave De Witt Clinton, for governor, a 
majority of 158 over Daniel D. Tompkins, indicating 
the shifting of the Federalists to Clinton. In the next 
3ear General Tallmadge came to the front again and 
was elected a delegate to the Constitutional Conven- 
tion. 

The small total vote of Dutchess, less than 3,000 
out of a poinilation of 46,000, has doubtless been 
noticed. Under the first State constitution, ownership 
of property valued above £20, or the renting of prop- 
erty at 40 shillings or more a year, was required, and 
evidently shut out a good many votes. The local 
results, it must be admitted, were good. Even the 
smallest town offices were filled by men of promi- 
nence and standing, and commanded an amount of 
respect from the coninumity hard to realize now. 
When the call for a new Constitutional Convention 
had gone forth in 1821 in response to the advocates 
of the repeal of the voting qualifications, Poughkeep- 
sie and Dutchess County contained a strong element 
in opposition to ch;iiige ;ind the following appeal was 
issued : 

"TO Tiir; cn'izi;\s c)i' hutcitpiss county. 

"Our constitution was framed by wise and patriotic 
men, at a time when among the common friends of 
our country the spirit of genuine liberty prevailed, 
without the alloy of party feelings or interests. Len- 
der this constitution the good people of the state have 
enjoyed for near half a century, all the blessings of 
a free government, and have arrived to a degree of 
national prosi)erity and happiness, unexampled in the 
history of the old world. W^e feel and we trust you 
all feel, that a constitution w'hich in its practical 
results has been thus hajjpy, ought to be approached 
with the utmost caution : that no alterations ought to 
be made, except such as experience has shown to be 
clearly necessary, that no wild plans of innovation 



98 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE 



ought to be indulgvJ. that party spirit ougiit not to 
be sutYered to intrude. " etc. 

This was signed by a considerable number' of the 
substantial citizens of Poughkeepsie and of the 
county, who called a meeting to be held June nth, 
at the house of Luther Gay in the town of Washington, 
'■for the purpose of agreeing upon candidates." The 
party papers, Observer and Journal, waged bitter war- 
fare over the matter. The former said that under a 
show of independence "few but Federalists and de- 
cided Clintonians had signed this address," and m- 
dulged in vigorous criticism of Chancellor Kent and 
of all who had opposed the convention. The Journal 
in reply said : "We have seldom seen condensed in 
so small a compass so much spite and ill nature as is 
contained in the Observer of last week," with much 
in defense of the conservatives. The meeting at 
Luther Gay's house was duly held and nominated 
Morgan Lewis, James Emott, James Grant. William 
Taber, and Thomas Tillotson, but they were defeated 
by Peter R. Livingston, James Tallmadge, Jr., Abra- 
ham Schenck, Isaac Hunting and Elisha Barlow, dcs- 
cribefl in the Journal as "advocates of a party con- 
vention," and also as "worshippers of St. Tammany." 

Lafayette's \'isit. 

The visit of Lafayette to Poughkeepsie^ Sept. 
i6th, 1824, was an event long remembered and often 
referred to, a pleasant interruption to the political 
agitation of the times. He arrived at Poughkeepsie 
early in the morning, on the steamboat James Kent, 
and was received by several regiments of militia, com- 
manded by General Brush, and a great crowd of peo- 
ple. The procession moved up Main Street to 
Academy and down Cannon to Forbus's Hotel, where 
the distinguished visitor was received by the trustees 
of the village. Solomon \'. Frost was president of 
the village at that time, and it is related that being a 
Quaker he would not ride in the procession in which 
a brass band and several militia regiments took part. 
The address of welcome was made by Col. Henry 
A. Livingston, from the piazza in front of the Forbus 
House. "In this village," said he. "the immortal 
Washington was frequently the guest of the venerable 
George Clinton. In this village that Constitution 
which is the palladium and pride of United America, 
was adopted by the Convention of New York, nor 
were the resplendent talents, and commanding elo- 
quence of a Hamilton, the wisdom of a Chancellor 
Livingston, or the sagacity of a Jay, displayed in 

'For list of signers see Appendix. 

^Reports in the Poughkeepsie Jonrnal and in the Rc- 
pviblicini Ti-lfgrapli, Wednesday, Sept. 22d, 1824. 



\ain. To these prominent eras, permit us to add, as 
their apex, the transactions of this memorable occa- 
sions," etc. "To this address," says the Poughkeepsie 
Journal, "the General made an appropriate and feeling 
reply, in the course of which he adverted to his 
fonner acquaintance with the village, and to the great 
and astonishing changes, which, in common with our 
country generally, it had undergone." Neither of the 
newspapers of the day reported Lafayette's speech in 
full. 

From the Forbus House the party proceeded to the 
Poughkeepsie Hotel, where breakfast was served, at 
the expense of the village, for sixty-five people. Op- 
posite Lafayette, we are told^, sat Major Swartwout, 
a soldier of the Revolution, then 95 years old. Waltei 
Cunningham acted as marshal of the day, and among 
those at the table were James Tallmadge, Thomas J. 
Oakley, James Emott, Smith Thompson, Matthew 
\'assar. General Brush, Paraclete Potter, Nathaniel 
P. Tallmadge, Alexander J. Cofitin, John Armstrong, 
Jr., and Dr. William Thomas. Interesting side lights 
are thrown upon this celebration by the following 
entries in the village cash book, for September i6th: 

Samuel Henderson. To ringing court house Bell 

for La Fayette $ o 75 

John Cornish. To ring Episcopal Church bell 

La Fayette i 00 

Joel Du Bois. To ringing Dutcli Churcli hell La 

Fayette i 00 

Paraclete Potter. To printing 1,000 hand hills for 

La Fayette 8 50 

John Cowles. To express to West Point and New- 

bu rgh 5 00 

John Francis. To printing 500 Arrangements 4 00 

Peter B. Myer. To sixty-five breakfasts for La 

Fayette and suite 65 00 

Philo C. Brush. To four carrages for La Fayette .. 15 00 
Charles Butler. To four carriages for La Fayette .... 15 00 
Myers & Osborne. To printing 500 Iiills La Fayotle ■. . . 4 00 

.\ noteworthy- item in this list is that payment of 
$5 to John Cowles. So anxious were the villagers to 
have their welcome all ready that they provided an 
exi^ress rider to gallop up the post road and bring the 
good new^s that the steamboat was coming. The boat 
arrived here at 2 130 in the morning and a great bon- 
fire on Kaal Rock was one of the features of its recep- 
tion, with salutes of artillery. Doubtless Lafayette 
had learned how to get along without sleep during 
the trying days of the Revolution. He left here not 
long after breakfast and proceeded to the residence of 
(lovernor IMorgan Lewis, near Staatsburgh. 

The best descriptions of Lafayette's visit are curi- 
ously enough not from the newspaper rejiorts, but 

' Dutchess County History, p. 378. 



HISTORY OF P O U G H K E n P S J n. 



9y 



from tlie lottery advertisements of George P. Oakley, 
whose genuis as an "ad writer" was of the highest 
order. He had announced in the papers of Sept. 15th. 
alnntr with "New York State Literature Lottery No. 




GEORGE r. OAKI.EV. 

2," the following: "My fellow citizens will not forget 
that La Fayetti; is coming, and that he is welcome to 
our country, to our homes, and to our hearts. They 
will likewise not forget that the only La Fayetitc 
tickets in the village, are to be found at the Temple." 
In the papers of the next week. Oakley wrote, also in 
his advertising space : 

"On Thursday last our much beloved and nuich 
respected General honored us with his company. — lie 
came with the rising Sun, and exhilarated and en- 
nobled the moral, as that warmed and enlightened the 
natural world. * * * * 

"It is not my business to give a history of the day. 
I shall therefore be laconic, though it is difficult to be 
so on a subject so diffuse. * * * 

"The breakfast room at Myer's Hotel which I was 
so fortunate as to see the day before the jubilee, was 
splendidly decorated with an elegance altogether cred- 
itable to the taste and industry of the ladies who volun- 
teered in this patriotic employment. Brevity forbids 
a detailed description of this apartment of Portraits, 
and Banners, and Emblems, and Evergreens, and 
Flowers, and Festoons, and Garlands, and Temples, 
and Plate, and Porcelain, and Arches, and Mottos. It 
was indeed a fairy scene, and the beauties of nature 
and of art were so happily combined, that, though they 
strongly vied for precedence, all was harmony. 

"Washington" appeared in laurel leaved letters 
over one mantle piece, and "La Fayette" over the 
other, both encircled with wreaths of flowers. Over 
the folding doors appeared "Welcome La Fayette" 



in letters made entirel\' of the rich blossoms of the 
china-astor — -These letters, having the symetry, and ac- 
curacy of beautiful tyi)cs, were wrought by two sisters, 
young ladies of our village, who merit for their in- 
genuity and industry the highest encomiums, and if 
these desirable qualities are to be found, in the same 
perfection, in their domestic concerns, of which the 
performance in question is indicative, the man who 
would want a better wife than either of these, ought 
to live a bachelor till lie should lie as old as Francisco. 

"The General received the address of Col. Living- 
ston and answered it, on Forbus's upper piazza, which 
then, by evergreens and flowers and grace and beauty 
in festoons and clusters, was made more than ever an 
allusive picture of Eden. He received the salutations 
of the citizens in front of the lower piazza which 
likewise was tastefully ornamented. 

"The scene at Forbus's was highly interesting and 
if a view of it was permitted to the immortae Mont- 
gomery, he beheld it with heavenly complacency. This 
illustrious martyr to his devotion in the American 
cause was brought to my recollection, at the moment, 
Iiy the old sign which hung above, and which has 
Ix'en fanned by the breezes and bleached by the snows 
of forty-seven summers and winters. 

"jMajor Bailey's tree of Liberty, which grew in 
front of his shop, pleased me. My limits will not per- 
mit me to say more about it than that it was very 
green and flourishing, and was bending with the rich- 
est fruits personifying Washington and La Fayette, all 
the ex-presidents, some of the presidential candidates 
and all the signers of the Declaration of Independence. 

"The military on the cal-rock, at break of day 
made a very martial appearence, which I understand 
w'as spoken of by the General and his retinue in terms 
of applause. The salute fired from the rock was un- 
commonly line, and its echo and re-echo bounded as 
merrily and proudly among the western hills as if a 
band of Tritons, inspired by the occasion, had left 
their coral groves to ramble and blow their thousand 
shells in the green woods of Ulster. 

"La Fayette Tickets are now selling rapidly at 
the Temple of Fortune," etc. 

When Lafayette died, in 1834, Poughkeepsie, in 
common with many other places in the country, ren- 
dered public honor to his memory. A special meeting 
of the trustees on June 30th, at which Alexander 
Forbus, Isaac I. Balding, James Mills, Richard Pud- 
ney and Josiah Burritt were present, made the follow- 
ing arrangements which are recorded on the minutes : 

"At Sunrise on Thursday the 3d July next a salute 
of 24 guns will be fired from Pines Hill, Mansion 
Street and one gun every half hour until sun set. At 
10 o'clock A. AI. a procession will form at the Hotel 
and proceed through Washington, Mill, Catherine, 
Main and Market Streets to the Episcopal church, 
under Gen'l Leonard Maison, Grand Marshall of the 
day, in the following order 



>^ TEMPLE OF FORTUNE. 

Aeu>Yor/i, Januury 19, 182G. 

The drawing of the Literature Lotttiv, No^ 3 lor 
1S23- 'L 

17,21, 7, 35. 6, 81." 



The next Lottery is the I iiiou Canal, No. 19. and 
draws in Philadelphia, on Wednesday, February Isl. 

FRIZES. 

50,000 Dollars, 5,000 Dollars, 

20.000 Dollars, 5,000 Dollars. 

10*000 Dollars. 3,970 Dollars, 

10,000 DoUars, 3,970 Dollais, \ 

5,000 Dollars, '' 

And 189 from 100 to 1,000 Dollars, &c. 

'I'iiket!. SU.OU Qiiurti-i-6 S.Sj 

U44v«ui iiU Uij^lills 1.11 

Prizes in all the current Lotteries, paid by 

GEO. P. OAKLEY, 

PQUghkecpsU;, \ ' 

Willi ;;iatitu(lc uud pleusun: lgi>ii tu iii,\ fricDila aud tile jiublic tho lulwVing '() 
iinvBriiiShid history. Auil 1 am iiidiucJ to du it not bucausu I wish tu publish^V 
own good fui-luiic.but because it would be very difficult uiid Uuublcsonic to comcBJi 
it, because 1 »isl' to gratifr public cuiionlty, and bccuusu it »ill jiicrcut luaiiy cr^y ] 
roneoui repoils wliicli would olbir»i!i- uutuiJly piucicd from juib miuMcuircnec. ; i 

Atnong tbc tiuLcl» wliich 1 pui-cliased ut tbo Uiunagcrs in Literature Lolter.v, /;, 
No. 3, tbc drawing of « liiib appcar.t above, was a balf ticket having fur its coiiibi- .yi 
nation 7, «7, SI- I"'''' ''"'f ' ofl'cirJ for aijo for sonic time to my cnstomers, vvhcii S 
1 npucelieiided 1 sbould have o sur|ilu(i of ticUets left on hand, and iherrruie «CIJ(: | 
it, iitU some otters, to u Moitby friend iu No»-YorL to be sold, lie indrinoured^^ 
without sucnis to effert a sale, and ntuined the whole to me, when they weiv oBijb'i^ 
cd KKoiii and again, and when the cveningof the lOth of January •rrived, 1 had^_ ^ 
uniall surplus of lirkets remaining, iucludiug the unacsaid liuU' and thl'ce olhoiS. t 
Tlicsc Iburhahcs were ivpeatedly, but unsucccsMuUy, olTcivd on the Jay of the " .^ , 
drawing, and during the eveuing a company of gentlemen were pre!.slugl| invited 
10 purchase them at a ivduced prie.-, which they declined ; tUe conseqUcnce vias J 
lbc\ with olher tickels, were nut >old, and after the uales wci-c oloicd and the «ur- 
lilu's'liacked up, Mr. IJilbert V ilkinson, who asilistod meiii doing it, iimposeil pui- 
chHsinjr liie lialf of the said surplus j soiiio convei-sation ensued, when I told hiui ""'' 
he mi"hl have,al schcnio price, the whole or any part of it. 'J he If suit wus that 
lie to(H <ine foul lli, and the furlher result is that we have been so forluiylc us to ^ 
draw viilii the said half lickel the half of One Hundred Thuusund llolluis. -.< 

iliuu sold ii. my rnMoiners, besides iinmerous Fifty UoUar Prizes mm 1'-"Is • 
Ihcieotiuanv of One Hundred and several of Five Ihmdred UoHais, unci 1 lemii 
lliul seicrid'ix'ipcclable prizes have been drawn in the eoiw^t l^v^olets «huli 
ttcrc pun based cIseHliei'e. . . T^ .. ;-■ ' 

I eon- r ilnlole inv fellow cilizeus of rutchcss County and m-\icinitjr oH thjt IKS.-^ 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIB 



101 



Grand Marshall 
Capt. Slater's Company of Artilk-ry 
Horse caparisoned in funeral dress 
The Reverend the Clergy 
Orator of the day, Rob't Wilkinson, Esq. 
Trustees of the \'illage 
Revolutionary Soldiers 
Military Officers 
Judges of the Courts 
Members of the Bar 
Sheriff of the County of Dutchess 
Magistrates of the X'illage 
The r>oard of Trade 
The Fire Companies 
The lienevolent Cordwainers Society 
( Ifficers and Students of tlie Academy 
Citizens Generally 

Black crape to be worn on the left arm. The P>ells 
I if the \'illage will be tolled during the procession. 
The Trustees request masters of vessels and projirie- 
tors of public houses to have their colors hoisted half 
mast during the day." 

Till-: LOTTKKV IX POUC.UKKKI'SIF.. 

Lafaxette's visit was at the height of the lottery 
craze, which seems to have begun about 1820. In TJic 
Poughkccfsic Journal for May 3rd, 1824, there are 
more than a column and a half of lottery advertise- 
ments, from G. P. Oakley, W. Cunningham, A. G. 
Storm & Co., and Conklin & Bowne. Before 1820 lot- 
tery advertisements were not conspicuous, though 
there was generally one in each of the local papers. 
Here is one of Storm & Wilson's announcements pub- 
lished in March. 181 1 : 

$25,000. 

UNION COLLEGE LOTTERY 

No. 2. 

Will commence its drawing in tilt- city nf New York on 

the fdurtli Tnesday in April next and will continue to draw 

Six Hundred Tickets per day till finished — The scheme of 

which contains 3 prizes of $25,000 one of $10,000 and one of 

$5,000, and many other valuahle prizes. Tickets, Halves, 

Quarters and Eighths, for sale in a variety of Nos by 

Stiikm ami Wilson. 

Lotteries were conducteil fur all sorts of causes. 
Churches and colleges were Iniill from their proceeds, 
and the largest prizes at the time of the Lafayette visit, 
or a little later, were in the Literature Lotteries for the 
benefits of the State schools and guaranteed by the 
State of New York. The early drawings seem to ha\e 
been mostly on the '"Six hundred tickets a day" i)lan. 
but later there were all sorts of plans and the big 
lotteries were often advertised to be "finished in a fe\-. 
minutes." Thus the "Washington Lodge Lotteries." 
under the "authority of the State of Rhode Island." 
advertised the "150 numbers hinarx' combination and 
pennutation — 28 ballots drawn." There were 22.350 



tickets at $2.20 each. The mimbers drawn were com- 
bined 1st and 2nd. 2nd and 1st, etc. In annther Rhode 
Island lottery, with 19,600 tickets, only 6 ballots were 
drawn. 

George P. Oakley was the leading lottery agent 
in Poughkeepsie from 1823 to 1826, and when he sold 
out the business he had won the largest lottery jirize 
ever taken in this neighborhood. He was earlier, as 
we have seen, in the milling and freighting business 
with his father, Jesse Oakley, at the Upper Landing. 
In 1819 he failed and the mills went to the Middle Dis- 
trict Bank and were deeded' in 1821 to James Rey- 
nolds and Aaron Innis, who had previously been in the 
freighting business. The deed included a plaster mill 
and a grist mill on the north side of the stream, and 
mentions also a nail factory and a saw mill on the 
south side. Oakley was a man of too nnich ability to 
be kept down and was soon engaged in keeping a gen- 
eral store. His "Bulletin No. i," announcing the open- 
ing of his "Temple of Fortune" "opposite Potter's 
r.ook Store," is dated Aug. i, 1823, and the location 
was about on the corner of Liberty Street, which had 
probably not long been opened. In this bulletin he 
states that two $20,000 prizes had recently been won 
in Poughkeepsie and that two similar ones had pre- 
ceded them. In his bulletin No. 10, dated Dec. 17th, 
1823, he gives the following list of "Some of the many 
prizes which have enriched our citizens, in the course 
of a few years," as follows : 

I Prize ilrawn by Valentine Baker of $10,000 

I " " " James Sands of 3,000 

I " " " the Fire Company & Messrs 

Angevine Elmore & Ja-y- 
cocks each one quarter of r,ooo 
I " " " -A company of Gentlemen in 

Poughkeepsie of which 1 
was one 500 

I " " " A Gentleman of 500 

I " '■ " Cornelius Wiltsie and 

George Brinckerhoff of 5,000 

'4 " " " The Messrs EUmore of 100,000 

I " " " Mr. Flagler of 1,000 

1 " " " George P. Oakley of 1,000 

I " " " Gilbert Wilkinson 1,000 

I " " " .\bm P. KnapiJ and others of 500 

I " " " Peter Everitt of 1,000 

'4 " " " A. C. Warner of 20,000 

T " '■ " .\ number of Gentlemen in a 

package of 2nd class, of 20,000 
I " " " .Martin Hoffman Jr. of 1.500 

.\nd last though not least Isaac Germond and 

(^■o. I'. ( )akley (selected by the latter) 10,000 

hAiilently fortime came Oakley's way with some 
rapidity and a good share of it went to other Pough- 

iThis deed (Lib. 63, p. 162) contains an interesting agree- 
ment as to water rights on the Fallkill. 



102 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 



kfcpsians. Oakley does not omit to mention the prizes 
sold or won by his competitors, who in addition to 
those already given included Isaac T. Doughty, Hayes 
& Adriance and Peter Everitt. Thus he tells us that 
W. Cunningham, whom he sometimes refers to as 
"Sir Walter," won half of a $10,000 prize, the rest 
of which he had sold to persons in the county. Decem- 
ber 28th, 1824. Oakley says: "One day last week I 
enjoyed the pleasure of paying to Miss Elizabeth 
Ward $8,500 and also $8,500 to Mr. Seneca Rowland," 
both of the town of ^^'ashingto^. "These worthy 
persons are both single," he adds, "and had the good 
luck to purchase of me jointly." In readable qualities 
and cleverness Oakley's advertisements are models: 
"Who would pinch through life without being able to 
do one generous action, when with money enough and 
to spare he might give liberally to the oppressed 
Greeks, at the grand military ball which will be cele- 
brated in the city for their benefit on the anniversary 
of the battle of New Orleans." Again in January, 
1825, he begins a l)ulletin, ".\ny man who is fool 
enough to burn Lehigh Coal at the Commencement of 
the New Year instead of buying a ticket in this lot- 
tery." 

This is the first local reference tcj coal I have seen, 
and indicates that it was a decided luxury. In fact, 
it was rather an interesting experiment than a luxury 
at this time, for many people found much difficulty in 
making it burn. The first Lehigh coal is said to have 
lietn nnich harder than most of the anthracite now in 
use and it could rarely be made to burn in a grate 
without keeping the blower up almost continuously. 
Coal was served to customers for a numlier of years 
in big lumps which had to be broken up with a ham- 
mer. Dr. Thomas was one of the first men in Pough- 
kecpsie to use it. and it was not generally of much 
service until after the Delaware and Hud.son Canal had 
been ojjened and after stoves had been specially con- 
structed for burning it. David C. Foster was the first 
local dealer to make its sale a leading feature. 

The decline of the lottery craze, which reached such 
a ])oint tliat it demoralized business and people, came 
about i)artly from the growth of public sentiment 
against it. but more from the opening of newer an.l 
larger fields of speculation with the organization of 
stock companies. Oakley's crowning acliievement was 
the winning of a i)rize of $50,000 in partnership with 
Gilbert Wilkinson, his brother-in-law, who, however, 
had br.t a one-fourth interest in it. I le thought it nec- 
essary to explain their good luck in an elaborate circu- 
lar, a fac-simile of which is given on page i(X). 
Me was not only a good advertiser, ])ut was evidently a 
man of careful business methods, for all his lottery cir- 
culars were pasted in scrap books which have been 



saved. He seems to have continued in the lottery busi- 
ness until about 1826. and probably sold to Richard 
Pudney, who advertised "The Temple of Fortune" 
after that time. Oakley became County Treasurer and 
then cashier of the Poughkeepsie Bank at its organiza- 
tion in 1830. 

Party Changes — The Telegraph and the Dutch- 
ess Intelligencer. 

After the adoption of the constitution, which abol- 
ished most of the voting qualifications, as well as the 
Council of Revision^ and Council of Appointment, 
we find the Journal in 1824 favoring the ne.xt great 
step towards democracy, the projjosition to allow the 
people to vote directly for presidential electors, 
which was not, however, carried in time to be available 
before the election of 1828. Parties were then much 
broken up and in a state of transition. As a result of 
the turmoil the Poughkeepsie members of the Re- 
publican party became dissatisfied with the Observer 
as an organ, bought an entirely new newspaper outfit 
;ind established the Republican Telegraph, placing 
W illiam Sands and Isaac Piatt in charge, the latter be- 
ing but 21 years of age and having recently completed 
his apprenticeship in the office of the Journal. 

In one of his reminiscences, published many years 
later, .Mr. Piatt said that most of his early education 
V as olitained in the printing office and in Paraclete 
I 'otter's book store. He had the privilege of reading 
many of the books in stock and was assisted in select- 
in,; them by Horatio Potter, a ne]5hew of the pro- 
prietor and clerk in the store, afterwards Bishop of 
New ^'(lrk. Potter's book store was a great village 
instiiilion, a sort of club where all those who were 
fond of literature and of discussion were wont to 
gather. 

Tin- political committee which controlled the new 
p.iper was James Hooker. Leonard Maison. Abraham 
(1. Storm. John S. Myers. Jacob Van Ness, Ebenezer 
.\ye and Obadiah Titus. The first number was print- 
ed May 5th, 1824. "a few doors south of the Court 
House." From the oiiening announcement we hear 
ag;iin the story, "For a considerable i)eriod and until 
within ;i few years i>asl the old Federal party have 
bad a majority in this county, which at every succes- 
si\e election enabled them to return to the Legislature 
their members of Assembly," and alas, after two years 
of Re])ublican success the county in 1823 had gone 
back to the Federalists or Clintonians again. Xor 
was the Repnbliean Telegraph able to hold it. The 

Ut is worthy of note that in the Council of Revision 
wliich (Iccitled the f.itc of the act passed in 1816 for building 
the Eric Canal were three former Poughkeepsians ; Chancello'f 
Kent, Judge Smith Thompson and Judge Jonas Piatt. 



HISTORY OF POUGHKBBPSIB. 



103 



])aper started with opposition to De Witt Clinton just 
when his removal from the canal commission aroused 
public indignation to such an extent that he was again 
elected governor, while in the same year the party 
lost the support of the national administration through 
the election of John Quincy Adams to the presidency. 
General James Tallmadge was nominated and elected 
Lieutenant Governor at this time, and might have had 
the nomination for governor, according to Thurlow 
Weed,! jf j^g },ad consented to denounce the removal 
of Clinton from the Canal Commission. That he con- 
sented to run on the ticket with Clinton shows the 
generally mixed-up comlition of political afifairs. 
Tallmadge then was a leader of the Tammany faction, 
and had strenuously opposed the Erie Canal and its 
chief advocate. The Poughkccpsie Telegraph sur- 
vived the succession of party disasters, but ceased to 
be a party organ the next year and was sold to Charles 
P. Barnum, one of the proprietors of the Observer. 
The two papers were then combined and published as 
The Telegraph and Observer until 1828, when the 
name of the older paper was dropped. 

In the wreck of old parties the Journal, still 
published by Paraclete Potter, lost its moorings and 
drifted with the popular tide into support of Jackson 
for the Presidency in 1827, several months ahead of 
the Telegraph. Then early in 1828 another new pa- 
per, The Diifehess True Ainerieau.- was started by 
Peter K. Allen, who also shouted for the Hero of 
Xew Orleans. Apparently everybody was for Jack- 
son, but there were a few Adams men left in old 
Dutchess and presently they got together a nondes- 
cript, second-hand outfit and established The Duteh- 
ess Intelligencer, which published its first number 
.\l)ril ,30th, 1828. Charles F. Ames, a ynung man 
fniiii Hudson, was hired as editor, with Frederick T. 
1 'arsons to look after the type setting. The opening 
editorial stated that "a great and absorl)ing question 
agitates the minds of the citizens of this vast Repub- 
lic ■'■ * * Who shall be our next president? 
Jnhn Ouinc\- Adams or Andrew Jackson? the ac- 
complished civilian, the unrivalled statesman, the up- 
right man, and the unassuming Republican, or the 
\ ictorious, but sanguinary and remorseless soldier?" 
In another column of the same issue we read : "At 
the next annual election the citizens of this State will 
fur the first time since the organization of the govern- 
ment, exercise the important privilege of choosing at 

lAutobiography of Thurlow Weed, p. 108. 

21 know of 110 copies of this paper in e.xistence, but it was 
discontinued after one year and moved to Ulster County, 
according to a historical sketch of the Press of Poughkeepsie, 
written by Isaac Piatt for tlic 25111 anniversary of the found- 
ing of llie Eagle and pubhslied April 30th, 1853. 



the Polls the Electors of President and Vice President 
of the United States." Ames soon retired from the 
editorial management of the Intelligencer and Parsons 
ran a few issues alone. Then the owners gave the 
plant to Isaac Piatt, Parsons remaining as a partner. 
Their announcement is in the issue of Aug. 20th. The 
paper now began to bristle with vigorous editorials, 
but Jackson's "hurrah campaign" carried the county 
in November by a large majority. The Intelligencer 
ascribed his victory locally "to the political depravit)' 
and want of principle in a few leaders of both the old 
parties * * * who formed an alliance for the 
sole and only purpose of bartering away the vote of 
this county to Gen. Jackson," and adds, "The demo- 
cratic party split in two nearly equal parts, leaving a 
small majority in favor of Mr. Adams. But the move- 
ments of Messrs Potter & Co. [the Journal] carried 
a great majority of the federal party and federal in- 
fluence in favor of Jackson." 

Judge Smith Thompson of Poughkeepsie was the 
nominee of the /Vdministration or Adams ]iarty for 
governor in 1828, but was overwhelmed in the land- 
slide. He received 4,558 votes in Dutchess, and Mar- 
tin Van Buren, the "wizard of the Albany Regency." 
received 3,257. This was the first election at which 
the Anti-Masonic party became an influence. Thur- 
low Weed in his Autobiography devotes several pages 
( 303-307) to an effort to show that had Francis Gran- 
ger been nominated by the Adams men, instead of 
Tudge Thompson, Van Buren might have been defeat- 
ed. Granger, however, ran for Lieut.-Govemor along 
with Thompson. The feeling against the Free Masons 
was not yet a force in Dutchess County, or in this part 
of the State, but was strong in some of the western 
counties. Mr. Weed states that after the nomination 
of Thompson he spent a day or two tr_\ing to recon- 
cile the Anti-Masons of the western section, and finding 
his efforts in vain came to Poughkeepsie to endeav- 
or to persuade Judge Thompson to withdraw in favor 
of Granger, so as to prevent the nomination of an Anti- 
Masonic ticket. He reached here by steamboat just 
as the committee that had notified Judge Thompson 
of his nomination was leaving. They had obtained 
the Judge's acceptance of the nomination with con- 
siderable difficulty, and when Mr. Weed wanted them 
to go back with him to the Judge's residence and ask 
him to withdraw his acceptance they were naturally 
very reluctant, but at length consented, some of them 
for the express purpose of combatting Mr. Weed's ar- 
guments. The mission proved very embarrassing for 
all, and the Judge, having once made up his mind to 
run. decided to stand by his decision. His vote in 
the State was 106,415, while Van Buren had I36,78r) 



104 



HISTORY OF POUGHKBEPSIB 



and Solomon Sonthwick. the Anti-.\[asonic candidate, 
33,335. The combined Adams and Anti-Masonic votes 
would have elected the .\dams candidate, but it is by 
no means certain that Granger or anyone else could 
have held them all. Southwick got only 113 votes in 
Dutchess. 

So discouraging was the outlook for the Intelli- 
gencer at the close of its first year that Mr. Parsons 
declared he could not live on his share of the profits, 
and withdrew from the partnership, but was i)revail- 
cd upon to remain as an employee at a salary of $7 
a week.' liy 1830 the jiaper had nevertheless obtained 
a good patronage, and maintained it in spite of the 
fact tliat the factional differences of the times gave 
rise to two more j^apers, the Inquirer in 1829 — a suc- 
cessor to tlu- True American — and the Dutchess Re- 
publican in Jul_\-, 1831, started by Thomas S. Ranney 
as an "".Vnti-Regency" paper, opposed to Martin A'an 
Huren's control of the party in the State. The .Anti- 
Masonic movement was sweeping over the State then. 
and as the Intelligencer refused to become its organ, 
after the election of 1830, the Inquirer was purchased 
and its naiue changed to The Anti-Mason. The feel- 
ing locally was strong enough to close up the old 
King .Solomon's T.odge which Washington had visit- 
ed and Masonry was not revived in Poughkeepsie until 
1852. 

In 1833 Mes.^rs. I'latt and Rannev imited their pa- 
l)ers, beginning on the last Wednesday of .\pril the 
publication of the Intelligencer and Republican, a title 
so awkward that the ne.xt year it was changed to The 
Poughkeepsie Bagle. Meanwhile Jackson had carried 
the county in 1832 by a considerabh reduced inajorit\ . 
and \'an lluren carrieil it again in 183'i b\- a still 
smaller majority, .\tter that Dutchess County be- 
came doubtful territory, and so remained until after 
the formation of the l\ei>iiblican party, a few years be- 
fore the Civil War. In 1832 tlie Intelligencer called 
itself the organ of the .\';itioiial l\ei)ul)licans, but before 
1S36, in common with other sujiporters (if 1 lenr\ Claw 
it had taken the name of Whig and was referring to 
its opponents as Tories. 

The Telegraph continued for several years to call 
itself Republican and to refer to Clay's party as 
I'ederalists. Egbert I'.. Killey and Aaron T,ow had 
been publishing this ])a]n-r for a number of \ears, but 
in 1835 '^f''- f'"w so!<l his interest to llenson J. i.os- 
sing, and this marks the entry of another notable 

'Isaac Piatt often used to tell this story, as an illustration 
both of the difficulties of his early career and of the prevailing 
rate of \vaj,,vs at that time. He received help and encourage- 
ment in his venture from the Adams comtnittee: John H. 
Davis, Judge Kdmuiul IT, Pendlelnn. .Miraham G. Storm, 
Alexander J. Coftin. Sle|.lu-n Cleveland and Gen. John Brush, 



figure into Poughkeepsie journalism. Mr. Lossing had 
been before this a member of the firm of Henderson 
& Lossing, jewelers, advertising "Gold and Silver 
Watches," etc. When he began newspaper work he 
soon saw the value of illustrations and turned his 
skill as a jeweler to wood engraving. Always inter- 
ested in history and in general literature, Mr. Lossing 
revived the old Poughkeepsie Casket, wrote many 
articles for it and illustrated them himself. In 1838 
he was also engaged in editing and illustrating the 
t'aniily Magazine of New York, and began writing 
historical articles, preserving the recollections of the 
old people about him of Colonial and Revolutionary 
events. His "Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution" 
made him the most popular historian of the day. 
Though never a very careful student of records or 
other original sources of accurate information, Mr. 
Lossing's books are always readable and served great- 
ly to stimulate interest in American history. Among 
his contemporaries in the jewelry business may be 
mentioned E. D. Morgan & Son, the son being William 
S. Morgan. 

Banks .\nd B.\.nki;rs. 

.\s early as 1816 an effort had been made to pro- 
cure a charter for a Dutchess County Bank. Nov. 
15th of that year Nathaniel l'\-rris, Nathan Conklin, 
jr., .\Ibert Cook, Jacob Green and lienjamin Herrick 
met at r>alding's Hotel and signed an application. 
Presumably the financial depression stopped this enter- 
prise, but there was at least one private bank in Pough- 
keepsie then or soon afterwards, known as the E.x- 
change liank". .\ note pa\able "at my Exchange Bank." 
signed by Henry Da\is and by Walter Cunningham 
cashier, Sept. 15, 1811;, is still in existence. This 
bank was probably conducte<l at Davis's house, which 
has been rebuilt as the b'allkill National Bank. Cun- 
ningham after\\;irds became prominent in ])olitics and 
it was largely through bis iniltu-nce' at .Albany that a 
charter was obtained, \])ril 12. 1825, for the Dutchess 
County Bank. The capital autlmrized was $150,000, 
but when the books were opened, in .Ma\, the subscriji- 
tions- were found to amount to $700,000, and in 1836 
the capital was increased to $600,000. The organiza- 
tion took ])lace on jul\ I2tb. I lenry Davis becoming 
the first ])resident and Walter C'umiingbam the first 
cashier. ( Ither directors then chosen were James Tall- 
madge, John T. Schryver, Thomas L. Davies, James 
Grant, jacdb Slinuk. Gilbert Thorn. Caleb I'.arker. 
Solomon \. J''rost, .M.atthew \ assar, tleiu"}- Conklin 
and James Hooker. 

'.Autobiography of Thurlow Weed, p. 106. 
^Telegraph, Ma> .'.;, 18J5. 




/')/ii;///:iipsir Haul; Hni/i/iin; . iioii' llic I'oui^likcrpiic Tiusl ioiiif>a 
Tin- addition to the right was irniitly I'liitl. 



ly, ys.r . Ipp.iidiA 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 



107 



Tlic careers of Cunningham and Oakley were not 
the onl)' ones tliat connect the lottery business with 
local banking. A. G. Storm, president of the Middle 
District Bank, Peter Everitt, chief stockholder of the 
same, James Grant, Jr., who became cashier of the 
Farmers and Manufacturers on its organization, and 
several other prominent bank officials had conducted 
"lottery and exchange" offices. They occupied appar- 
ently much the same position in the community that 
the leading brokers do to-day. and the transition from 
the lottery business to banking was not unnatural, for 
the lottery men nearly all advertised to deal in uncur- 
rent bank notes and became experts in discounts and 
in detecting covmterfeits. A notable example was 
John Thompson, who first taught a private school in 
Mill Street, and then in 1S28 advertised as a dealer in 
lottery tickets. He at length removed to New 
York, established "Thompson's Bank Note Re- 
porter," a most important publication for many 
years, and became a leading organizer of several 
prominent banking institutions in the metropolis, in- 
cluding the First Xational Bank. He lived for a num- 
ber of years in the house still standing back of the 
West Shore station opposite Poughkeepsie, and was the 
father of the late Frederick Thompson, who has been 
so prominent a recent benefactor of Vassar and other 
colleges. 

The Middle District and Dutchess County banks 
were in business on the tiorth side of Main Street, the 
former on the site of the Taylor Building, and the 
latter on the site of the present Merchants' National 
Hank. r>etween them, in i82<S, was a "Plough ancl 
Stove Factory" conducted by Coffin & Schofield. The 
failure of the Middle District Bank, May J8th, 
1829, brought to light some interesting features 
of the banking methods of the day. George P. Oak- 
ley, N. P. Tallmadge, Peter Everitt and Thomas L. 
Davies were appointed a committee to examine the 
bank; they found' that $275,000 of the capital of 
$500,000 was held by Peter Everitt on a note, and that 
he also owed the Kingston branch $61,000. He had 
been receiving six per cent dividends on the bank 
stock and paying five per cent, on the loan. Truly 
there were financiers in those days ! The bank had 
deposits of $21,885.95 in Poughkeepsie, $10,104.96 
in Kingston, and $140,967.00 notes in circulation. Its 
good resources were put down as $118,367.89 and 
doubtful resources at $107,543.55. Its notes were 
freely taken at par as soon as the committee made its 
report, but afterwards went down to 75 cents on the 
dollar and perhaps lower. Up to March 17th, 1830, 

iDutchess Intelligencer, June 24th, 1829. 



dividends of 62 1-2 per cent had been paid to note 
holders and depositors, and in 1833 all the remaining 
effects were advertised for sale, but items in the news- 
papers seem to indicate that the final settlement was 
much later. The State held $50,000 of the stock, 
fully paid in. Noteholders and depositors were paid 
almost in full. This was the only bank failure in the 
history of Poughkeepsie. 

In the same year, 1829, the Safety Fund .\ct, 
which made New York bank notes the best in the 
country, was passed, and in 1830 the Poughkeepsie 
Bank was organized with a capital of $roo,ooo. The 
first directors, elected June 17th, were Thomas L. 
Davies, James Thompson, .Albro Aikin, Thomas Taber 
2d, James Hooker, N. P. Tallmadge, Nathan Conklin, 
John Lockwood, Aaron Innis, Richard Pudney, .\lex- 
ander J. Coffin, Matthew Vassar, and Gilbert Wilkin- 
son, Thomas L. Davies was chosen president. 

The Farmers and Manufacturers Bank, the second 
nider the Safety Fund Act, was organized as the 
result of a meeting held at Hatch's Hotel (The Pough- 
keepsie) May 23d, 1834, at which Homer Wheaton, 
'ndeon P. Hewitt, James Grant, Jr.. Aaron Innis. 
William Schell, Jacob \'an Benthuysen and James 
I looker were appointed to receive subscriptions. On 
the 19th of July the first board of directors, which 
included William A. Davies and Matthew Vas.sar, was 
elected ; James Hooker was made president and James 
Grant. Jr,, cashier. The old Myer Tavern, corner of 
Cannon and Market Streets, was purchased and torn 
down, and in February, 1835, the bank began business 
in its present building. Matthew \''assar had then 
become the president. 

The Savings Bank, chartered* April i6th, 1831, 
began business in 1833 in the old Middle District 
Bank building. \\'illiam Davies, James Emott, Fred- 
erick Barnard, Matthew Vassar, Tennis Van Kleeck, 
Thomas W. Tallmadge, Nehemiah Conklin, Griffin 
Williamson, Henry A. Livingston and Stephen Arm- 
strong were named as trustees. Col. Livingston- was 
the first president. 

iCIiapter 134, Laws of 1831. 

2C0I. Henry A. Livingston was a leading man in Pough- 
keepsie as already indicated. He was a son of Rev. John H. 
Livingston and a grandson of Henry Livingston, so long the 
colonial county clerk. He lived in the old Livingston man- 
sion (see p. 29) which went to him after the division of the 
property in 1800. He was not always popular, though many 
times elected to important offices, and in 1806 a blackmailing 
attempt was made against him, the record of which was pub- 
lished in the New York Sun in December, 1891, and wa? 
republished in the Poughkeepsie Eagle 2^i\\ Feb., 1905. Col. 
Livingston died June 9th, 1849. 



108 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEBPSIB 



The Improvement Party. 

George P. Oakley and Walter Cunningham began 
to invest their lottery winnings in real estate and local 
enterprises soon after 1830 and, with Nathaniel P. 
Tallmadge, became the leaders of the Improvement 
Party, which played a very important part in the devel- 
opment of Poughkeepsie, though its operations cul- 
minated in a great real estate boom which collapsed 
and left nearly all its promoters penniless. N. P. 
Tallmadge, who has been already mentioned as a bank 
director, was perhaps the most important man of the 
period. He was a son of Joel Tallmadge, and was 
little or no relation to General James Tallmadge. He 
was a Member of .Assembly in 1820, postmaster of the 
village in 1821 ; in 1827 became president of the vil- 
lage trustees; in 1830 State Senator, and in 1833 
United States Senator. 

The term "Improvement Party" seems to have 
been used in the newspapers of the time to designate 
those who favored pusliing all sorts of mtuiicipal im- 




M.\TTHE\V V.\S.S.\R. 
/■'ivi/i II />ai;iicnrolypi\ p/io/ot;riifi/i(if /ly Mr. Ilnirv liiXtth. 

pruvements, new streeLs, ])avcinenls, etc., but wap 
afterwards applied to the iironiniors of the many 
enterprises of the day. .\l llie charter election of 
1835 what was described as the "Moderate Improve- 
ment Party," whose candidates for village trustees 
were Isaac I. Balding, Nehemiah Sweet and David 
Boyd, ran against J. \'an I'.entlnivscn. Gideon P. 



Hewitt and Samuel B. Dutton of the "L'ltra Improve- 
ment Party," with Matthew Vassar and Edward C. 
Southwick on both tickets. The "Moderates" elected 
Raiding and the "LHtras" Van Benthuysen and 
Hewitt. Matthew \'assar was chosen president of 
the board. 

Much had been done to improve the streets before 
this time, the second cobblestone era beginning about 
1830. Isaac H. Ver \'alin, who then lived on the 
soutliea,-;t corner of ]\Iain and .\cadem\' Streets. \\'il- 



1 -t^^ii^. .A 




The I 'assar S//ii/ /hriLiiy. liridge Street Fyo)d,J'ioiii a 
i/ra-a<iiii; made by 1 Icnry Whinfield in /Sj-. 

Ham Thomas, Thomas Piatt and Leonard Davis peti- 
tioned for the paving of .A.cademy Street between Main 
and Cannon. July 28th, 1830, about at the beginning of 
the movement, ^larket Street did not escape this time, 
and the pavement from Main to Church was ordered 
at a meeting of the trustees September 141I1. 1831.' 
Xiit long afterwards the Main Street iiavenieiU was 
extended to the river and from Academy to Hamilton 
Street. ISefore 1837 all the princi]>al street.-; had been 
cobbled, and excluding macadam, the area of pave- 
ment li;is IK it been greatly increased since. The old 
brick sidewalks, mostly discarded within the past 
twenty years, date also from this ])eriiid. .M;iy i8th, 
1S3:. the f(illi>\\ing paper was presented to the 
trustees: 

We tile undersigned owners of lots fronting on 
.Main street in 1 'ouglikcepsie between the court house 
and the ri\er dn hereby engage to jiave or tl;ig tlie 
sidewalks hefure nur said lots in such manner as tlie 
trustees of the village shall direct ;is witness our 
hands this thii-d day of .\'ov.. 1830. 

H. CoNKi.ix, Wm. D.wies, 

\Vm. TuRNiCK. Sii:riiEN .Armstrong, 

P. Potter. .M. \'.\ss.\r, 

M.\RINUS PlEUCE, A. Bl..\KESLEE. 

J. M. Net.sox. 

This was evidently before the vilK'ige had liegun 
to require paved sidewalks, while they were still a 

'For list of signers on Market, Garden and Mill Streets 
M-e .Appendix. 



HISTORY OF p u G H K n n p s I n 



loy 



matter of individual cntcrprisi-, and ddiihtless with 
many intervals of gravel and mud in front of the 
premises of the less enterprising. The tirst sidewalk 
order I have found is dated September 8th, 1831, and 
requires that "the Sidewalks in Main Street from 
Washington to Academy Street be pitched and Flaged 
with Brick in good and substantial manner — under the 
direction of the trustees — and that they cause a tax 
to be assessed, Levied and collected on the owners of 
the Lots for that purpose." Sidewalks were ordered on 
"Academy Street from Washington Street to Can- 
non,"i at the same time. The word "flag" evidently 
did not imply blue stone, but the records show that 
stone was occasionally used. The village was lifting 
itself out of the mud and preparing for the great pe- 
riod of expansion that wais to come. The following 
petition presents a glimpse of the old life when Main 
Street, at least above Academy, was a residence street, 
at the beginning of the improvement period. 

TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE VIEE-VGE OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 

The undersigned respectfully represents that the 
inhabitants of that section of Main Street which lies 
between the corner of Isaac IL \ er Valin and the 
corner of Hamilton and Main Streets have been sub- 
jected to greater expense in paving that section by 
reason of the increased width of the street than the 
inhabitants of any other section will be subjected to. 
That in the section named there are no crossings ex- 
cept at \'er \'alin's corner. The undersigned respect- 
fully suggests that in said section there should be at 
least two crossings, one nearl)' opposite the pump at 
the easterly end of said section and one opposite the 
brick house occupied by Doctor Tapping. The reasons 
therefore are as follows : My family, the families 
living in the two houses West of me are obliged to 
get their water at the pump mentioned, their yards 
being too rocky to admit of wells being dug therein. 
The families living in the houses on the corner of 
Hamilton and Cannon streets get all their water at 
the pump mentioned. The children of almost every 
family living on the south side of Main Street are 
sent to Dr. Tapping's school. These with other con- 
siderations of general convenience render it desirable 
that there should be crossways at the places mention- 
ed," etc. 

Leon'd Maison. 

Poughkeepsie. 20th July. 1831. 
The "Doctor Tapping" Iktc mentioned was a son 
of Dr. Peter Tappen, the Revolutionary leader, whose 
widow was still living in August, 1824, when the town 
commissioners laid out Crannell Street, "by and with 
the consent and approbation of Elizabeth Tappen. the 
proprietor of the land." The survey began from the 
corner of her house and the street was of course 
named for her father, Bartholomew Crannell, who had 

iSo in original. Probably means Main Street to Cannon. 



given the land tn her husband so many years before. 
Catherine Street was surveyed from Theodoras Greg- 
ory's house (on the site of the Morgan House) in 
1831, and was extended through to Cottage in 1834, 
when Mansion Street and many of the other streets 
north of Mill were laid out. It was named from 
Catherine Livingston, Gilbert Livingston's widow, 
who died in 1830. Dr. Tappen built some of the first 
houses on Mill Street above Catherine, including what 
is now called the Wimpleberg house. One of his 
daughters married James Bowne. Leonard Maison, 
signer of the petition, was a famous character, a very 
able lawyer and politician. 

The real estate projects with which the leading 
members of the Improvement Party were most closely 
associated were generally on the north side of Main 
Street, but during the boom farms were cut up into lots 




oicorCtI-; corliks. 

and sold at auction in all sections. Dr. John Barnes, 
Richard \. Varick. George Corlies and Caleb Barker 
put through one of the largest deals, when they pur- 
chased the Bronson French farm, extending from 
Montgomerv Street to Holmes and from Hamilton to 
Market, with the exception of the section purchased 
by Christ Church in 1828, the greater portion of which 
was used as a burying ground, where now the church 
itself stands. On this farm they niapix-d' and slaked 
out the extensions of Academy and Hamilton Streets, 
south of Montgomery, and laid out Carr oll, South 

iMaps 74 and 84 Connty Clerk's Office. Barclay and 
Holmes are mapped throngh to Market. The Chnrch proper- 
ly originally extended to Hamilton, and tlie former rectory, 
corner Hamilton and Barclay, was bnilt in 1853. 



110 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 



Liberty. LSarclay, Franklin and Holmes. According 
to the late Henry D. Myers\ who did part of the sur- 
veying, the first day's sales at the auction of lots on 
this tract amounted to $80,000, and lots on South Lib- 
erty Street (now Garfield Place) brought $25 a foot. 
George Corlies- was tJie leading spirit in the develop- 
ment of this property, now one of the principal resi- 
dence sections of the city, and he is said to have been 
the first to plant shade trees along the streets. The 
farm next south of this was mapped not long after- 
wards and was advertised for sale in June, 1836, by 
Solomon V. Frost and George P. Oakley, as "the Eden 
Hills." "These hills," says the advertisement, "are 
raised on sixty acres of land, situate in tlir ^'uuh part 



opened and are to this day mostly pasliu-e land or 
meadow. .Many of the maps of the period are on 
file and some others are to be found in collections. 
On a map made to advertise a sale at auction, Sept. 
14th. 1836, of land bounded by Cherry, Mansion, Main 
Streets and the Fall Kill, the line of White Street is 
run through a part of the kitchen wing of the old 
Everitt stone house, which was doubtless lopped off 
when the street was opened. Jas Bleecker & Sons 
were the leading auctioneers of the day. 

Until this period nearly all of the successful up- 
town business and professional men lived over their 
stores on Main Street, or not far away in Mill, Can- 
non iir Market Streets, while persons engaged in 



B<py«y»cMcco»»flopMo)t//>M'Xn»<rfr-<' 



POUGHKEEPSIE WHALINGS COMPANY. 



U^o.cTel 



; <^,J%<iu^-i.t,Cj cyiir^i^. o~^-'^'C___^_S^ 



RffljCB (s to tertffs ttjat 

^ is the proprietor of OToiAZ ~ v-^ c~ Sliares of 

|| tlie Capital Stock of the Pocghkeepsie Whahwg CoMPAny, transferable 
1^ on the books of the said Company, at the office of the Trea.surer by 
H Atu^ _or. .-:^. _ attorney, on surrender of this certificate, ij'it6rjLc^/c-^ 



In Witness whereof the seal of the said 
Company is hereunto affi.xed at Pough- 
keepsie,Jhe '^if~^ Htny (.,{ (Oc/ij^^ 



X 



. N. SKAMAN. 






Sloik of Ihf- /'(•iiz/i/ct'fpsic ll'/id/iiii: Cciiif'ain 



of the village of I'oughkeepsie. adjoining llic Highland 
Turnpike, and the land lately sold by Mr. French to 
Mr. Barker and others, and the elegant mansion site 
of Mr. Holmes." Obadiah Holmes, from whom 
Holmes Street was named, owned the place which 
came into the possession of Hubert Van Wagenen in 
1839, and at his death in 1853 was sold to Henry L. 
Young. The Imuse was probably built by Mr. \an 
Wagenen. 

'J'his was well out into the country at that time, but 
still further in the woods were some of the tracts 
laid out on the north side. The map of Poughkeepsie 
published in 1837, shows a whole section of streets. 
Star. Willow, Morton, etc., that have never been 

iTalk with an Old Citizen.— Eagle July 30. 1884, 
-For biographical sketch see Appendi.\. 



the profitable river trade lived near tho landings. 
With the real estate boom began a migration to u\nw 
distinct residence sections, but the boonurs did not 
think it ]M-obable that many people in business at 
the river would ever care to live up-town, hence 
they planned Delafield Street to be a street of hand- 
some residences, each to be placed at least fifty feet 
back with a fine lawn in front. In order to give value 
io this property they established their leading indus- 
tries in the neighborhood of the Llpper Landing, al- 
ready an important centre. 

TlIK Wll.M.INO CoMl'.VNIKS. 

The most important of the new enterprises of this 
period were the Whaling Companies. That great 
ships were sent to sea from Poughkeepsie for whale 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEBPSIE. 



oil, in competition with such places as New Bedford, 
seems strange enough now, but Hudson, Newburgh. 
and other towns equally remote from the ocean, were 
doing the same thing. The Poughkeepsie Whaling 
Company! ^^j^g incorporated April 20th, 1832, "for the 
purpose of engaging in the whale fishery in the At- 
lantic and Pacific Oceans and elsewhere, and in the 
manufacture of oil and spermaceti candles." James 
Hooker, Matthew Vassar, Gilbert Brewster, Thomas 
L. Davies, Paraclete Potter, Nathan Conklin, Alex- 
ander J. Coffin and Richard Pudney are named as 
organizers in the charter. James Hooker became 
president and Alexander Forbus treasurer. The 
Dutchess Whaling Company was incorporated a year 
later (April 30, 1833), by Nathaniel P. Tallmadge, 



mont on a four years cruise, during which the crew 
mutinied and killed their captain. The ship Siroc 
wrecked at Valparaiso, Chili, was fitted out in 1834 
and in the same year the ship Elbe was purchased. 
The Haglc of May 13th, 1835, says, "The whaling 
business made a worse beginning at this town than at 
any other place but is now looking up." The ship 
Siroc is mentioned as lying at Cape Town completely 
dismantled. The Poughkeepsie Whaling Co. then had 
two ships at sea and two in port refitting. Not long 
after this the company moved its headquarters to the 
Whale Dock, where the Dutchess Company was al- 
ready established. The late James F. Marble^ came to 
Poughkeepsie in 1834 with others from New Bedford, 
Mass., to go into the employ of the Dutchess Whaling 



id^cu^^u-. ^ ^ ^Kn^- 



bSl 



Whaling Company 



"^La^ /^<^Uxt;anAC^i4fil^u,iti^^ The Dutchess 



" \ wynaiing fjompany / > 

I" \ Tlic Dulcliess County Bank <n £PruyA/i,^^,^„. •6''ai«c 



sr,. 



a/. In Witness v,l(tui/ /^e 



'i^-'/L&a 







Xotc of llu- /)ii/,/irss ll7/,i/i>/i; Coinpany. 



Jacob \'an Bentluiyscn, Walter Cunningham, Aaron 
Innis, John Adriance, Peter P. Hayes, Caleb Barker, 
.'\braham G. Storm, Paraclete Potter, George P. Oak- 
ley and John Green. Most of the numerous news- 
paper sketches of the old whaling business confuse 
these two companies hopelessly, and some do not 
nu-ntion the second and most successful ciini]«ny at 
all. 

The Poughkeepsie Whaling C(ini])any began busi- 
ness- betwi'cn the fool of Main Street and the Vassar 
P>rewer_\ . which was not built, hnwcvxT. until three 
or four years later. This company, of which Captain 
Frederick Barnard, father of the late Justice Joseph 
F. Barnard was the first agent, sent the barque Ver- 

'Chaptcr 208, Laws of 1S32. 

-'"Our First Shipyards." — Courier, 1886. 



Company, of which David S. Sherman was the local 
agent. The house built by Captain Sherman on 
Xorth Water Street, near Whinfield, is still standing. 
Captain Barnard lived on the North Road until about 
1845, when he purchased the large house built by 
Walter Cunningham in Cannon Street, still known as 
the liarnard house. 

The Eagle of May 20th, 1835, says of the Dutch- 
ess Whale Dock :" "On Friday last the company's 
new store was raised. It is 50 x 100 feet. * * * 
Upon this dock are also a cooper shop, thirty feet 
by fifty, two stories high and a large shed, with a 
rigging loft, attached to the ship yard of Messrs. 
Tooker & Hait. Other buildings, among which are a 
large candle factory and a shop for boat building will 

iSmivcnir Eagle, p. 19. 




i'(ifc,iiKi;i',rsiK CLASS works, 

()>/ the- silr of llu- Whiil,' IhHh. 



rciDit 11/ or 
thr n. 



'i;aiu-:ation of ( 'o)iif>(niy srr ( '//<//'/, r A7 ,11/1/ . //>/>, //■// 1 . '/'//r Utile loiihliuii ill 
'Jil ill l/ir fyidiin- 7oas l/ir bhul;\milh shop of llir II '/niliin; ( oiiipnitv. 



H f s r o R y OF p n u a ii k h e p s i b 



II;. 



1)0 put up as soon as possible. I'.oih whaling com- 
panies are determined to have all the work of buildini;, 
rigging and fitting out their ships done here, so that the 
town may have all the benefit of their patronage." 
The local papers by this time had certainly learned to 
print local news, and the same article states that the 
Dutchess Company was planning to build a new ship 
as soon as the "Newark" was ready for sea, and men- 
tions a large building on the corner of Mill and Dela- 
field Streets, "intended to be occupied as an extensive 
coach factory." The new ship planned was doubtless 
the "N. P. Tallmadge," launched in 1836. 

The "New England," one of the Dutchess Com- 
pany's ships, was given some notoriety by mention 
in R. H. Dana's Tzvo Years Before the Mast, pub- 
lished in 1840 as a true record of a voyage in the brig 
"Pilgrim" from Boston, and still a popular boys' book. 
L'nder date of Friday, Nov. 14, soon after the Pil- 
grim had rounded Cape Horn going westward, Dana 
writes: 

"At two p. m. we saw a sail on our larboard 
beam and at four we made it out to be a large ship 
steering our course, under single-reefed top-sails * 
* * He ran down for us, and answered our hail as 
the whale-ship New England of Poughkeepsie, one 
hundred and twenty days from New York * * '''■ 
.\bout half-past ten (the next day) their whale boat 
came alongside, and Captain Job Terry sprung on 
board, a man known in every port and by every 
vessel in the Pacific Ocean. * * * :;= j^js boat's 
crew were a pretty raw set, just out of the bush, and 
as the sailor's phrase is. "hadn't got the hayseed out 
of their hair.' 

* * * * * One of the lads who came in this 
boat, a thoroughly countryfied looking fellow, seemed 
to care very little about the vessel rigging or anything 
else, but went round looking at the live stock and 
leaned over the pigsty, and said he wished he was 
back again tending liis father's pigs." 

As this narrative indicates, a considerable num- 
ber of Poughkeepsie and Dutchess County boys ship- 
ped for a voyage or two on the old whalers, and some 
of them went round the world. .\ very few survivors 
may still be found who can spin the old-time \arns 
about their cruises. The Dutchess Whaling Com- 
pany at one time had a fleet of six or seven ships, and 
the "Whale Dock" with its shi])-yard. cooperages, re- 
pair shops, etc.. was a \ery busy, and a very odorift'r- 
ous neighborhood. ( )f all the buildings onh the old 
blacksmith sho]). now a dwelling, remains. This is 
On the south side of 1 )ntcliess .\\'enne just east of the 
location of the old ship-yard. The glass works oc- 
cupy the site of most of the Whale Dock buildings. 
The end of tile industrv will lie noted in the next chap- 



ter, hut here are some statistics from U. S. govern- 
ment |inl)licatiiins : 

WI1AI.I.\(", I.\l)i;STin' OK TOUCH KlCEPSIiC. 



'ear 


Number of 


Bbls. of 


Hl)ls. of 


L1.S. of 




\"e.ssels 


Sperm Oil 


Whale Oil 


Bone 


1835 


I 


500 






1 836 


I 


800 






1837 


2 


1300 






1839 


6 


'?(2045)? 




1840 


6 








1841 


7 


500 


200 




1842 


4 








1843 


3 


1770 


5700 


57000 


1844 


I 


700 


1600 


13000 



(Jthicr Industriks. 

The Other leading industrial establishment of the 
Improvement Party, the Poughkeepsie Silk Com])an\'. 
might have become a great establishment, if it had 
been launched at a more auspicious time. Incor- 
piiraled in 1S35, its chief building, erected in that 
\e;ir. was long a centre of important manufacturing, 
and. as rebuilt after the fire of 1854, is still in use. 
The company constructed an elaborate plant for the 
day and ev^en went into the culture of silk worms. 
growing mulberry trees on a tract of land near the 
junction of Delafield Street and the Post Road. It 
had not succeeded in obtaining nuich of a foothold in 
the industrial world when overtaken by the panic. 
Charles M. Pelton in 1837 rented the third floor of 
the building temporarily for the manufacture of car- 
pets. l)ut it did not become the Pelton factory until 
1 850. 

Other projects of the Improvement Party were 
the "Dutchess Rail Road Company." the origin of 
the plan so long in abeyance for a railroad eastward, 
incorporated March 28th. 1832. with William Davies, 
Henry Conklin, Paraclete Potter, and Morgan Car- 
]5enter as organizing commissioners: the Poughkeep- 
sie Locomotive Engine Company, startt'd after the 
panic of '37. and described in the next chapter : the 
"Poughkeepsie Manufacturing Company," chartered 
April 25th, 1832, "for the purpose of manufacturing- 
cotton and woolen goods and machinery," and the 
Poughkeepsie Screw Manufacturing Company, also 
described briefly in the next chapter. The Dutchess 
-Mutual Insurance Company was chartered April 12th. 
1836. and its first board of directors was Janus 
I'.niott. James Mabbett. Alexander Forbus, Thomas 
Tabor, .\braham Bockee, Daniel D. Akin. Homer 
Wheaton. William H. P.ostwick, J. T. Schryver. Steph- 
en Thorn. Silas Germond. John N. Ketcham. and 
James \'incent. It was ]ierhaps not distinctly an 
Improvement Party enterprise, and has survived all 



116 



HISTORY Of r o u G H K n n P S I E . 



vicissitudes and grown into a strong and important 
institution. Among other industries of this period 
were two iron foundries, one of which survives as the 
"Poughkeepsie Foundry and Machine Company" with 
a new plant on the north side of the city. It was 
estahlished about 1831 on the site of the recently 
abandoned Main Street plant of the company, by 
Solomon Y. Frost and Benjamin \^nil. The Dutch- 



360 Main Street. By 1835 t'lis was becoming a rather 
populous neighborhood for a tannery, and Mr. Boyd 
about that time purchased some property in the Red 
Mills neighborhood and establisheil a large tannery 
there. He also for a time conducted a tannery on the 
the north-east corner of Hamilton and Main Streets. 
Soon after this the Southwicks established a store and 
df]int for the purchase of hides at 370 Main Street, 










i ^W"'"/-^./r/,/„ yf^^A/,./.,. .5^;^/vw....v ' 



7 



'/yA 



■y--/ II 



W Oy,„Y^,v,//, ,y,//, /j,,/:, ,A/, r;„,/„y„.,y /,. //^ .,,,,,/{ 
ff'fl .- -r ." y)^^ ^ / / I 

III! / r/^/'^ '^^ / J- 



E, .-Si:^¥i^ ^/.^^^^...JJ^: M 




StocI; of the ro)c^hl;,;f>sic Silk Coiiipaiiy. 



ess Foundry, ea.-^t of Hamilton Street, was started still 
earlier, and continued in business until after 1880. 

As this was the period of cattle raising in Dutch- 
ess County the tanning business reached considerable 
importance. David Boyd opened a leather store in 
Main Street above Market (about 262) in 1821, and 
a few years later abandoned tlte old tannery on the 
corner of Washington Street and established one at 



, w here the leather l)usiness is still carried on by the 
sank- family. .Mr. Txiyd then, to meet this competition, 
built a small wooden building on the corner of South 
Clinton Street and jjlaced his son. John G. I'.oyd, tliere 
to intercejit the farmers as they came into town. This 
was soon abandoned, but the little building is still 
standing, having been moved to front Clinton Street. 
The Red Mills Tannery was conducted by John G. 



HISTORY OF P O U G H K E E P S I E . 



117 



Boyd and Abraham Wiltsie, then by Thomas Long- 
king, until the purchase of the property by Robert 
Sanford. One or two of the buildings, including the 
engine room and chimney are still there. 

The wool business also attained much importance 
during this period, and David Boyd dealt considerably 
in this staple as an adjunct of the tanning business. 
Conklin & Bowne were also large dealers in wool and 
built the brick warehouse which still bears the letters 
"wool" in the rear of 311 Main Street. Under the 
heading of "Poughkeepsie Wool ]\Iarket" the Eagle of 
June 24th, 1835, says : "The speculations in wool dur- 
ing the last week have been large and at good prices. 
We understand that at least 100,000 pounds have been 
sold at prices varying according to quality from 40 to 
85 cents a pound cash." 

It was during this period that Xathan Gifford 
started the cutting of dye woods in Poughkeepsie, af- 
terwards and for many years one of the most impor- 
tant industries of the place. Mr. Gifford had worked 
for Beria Swift at Alechanic (now Millbrook), who is 
said to have invented the first machinery for cutting 
dye woods used in America, and came to Poughkeep- 
sie in 1816. to work as a machinist in the Reynolds & 
Innis mills. Reynolds & Innis dissolved partnership, 
probably before the dye wood business began, James 
Reynolds and his sons taking the jfreighting and 
grocery business, the last of which has now become 
one of the leading wholesale establishments on the 
river, while Aaron Innis retained the mills. At l\Ir. 
Innis's death in 1838 Rowland R. Sherman, who had 
been bookkeeper at the storehouse on the dock, enter- 
ed into partnership with Nathan Gifford and the 
grinding of dye-woods was made a specialt}". The 
firm became Gifford, Sherman & Iimis in 1847, when 
Mr. Innis"s eldest son, George Innis, entered it. 

The Era of the Ste.xmboat. 

During this period, 1815-1837, the river steamboat 
reached the highest point of its commercial usefulness, 
a fact which had much to do with the growth of 
Poughkeepsie. In 1825, with competition for the 
Fulton and Livingston Company, passenger fares had 
begun to come down, and by 1834 a fare of $1.00 to 
Xew York was advertised. March 30th, 1827, a 
Poughkee])sie Steamboat Company was incorporated 
by James Tallmadge. Thomas J. Oakley, Peter Everitt, 
James Hooker, X. P. Tallmadge, William Davis, 
Samuel Pine, Henry Conklin. .A.aron Innis, Matthew 
\'assar, James Reynolds, John C. A'an \'alkenburgh, 
Xathan Conklin, Jr., and John Green, but apparently 
they did not carry out their plans, for in 1835 ^^he 
]>apers were advocating the establishment of a local 



company, and at a village meeting held December 2nd 
Matthew Vassar, Peter P. Hayes, Henry Conklin, 
John Brush, Isaac Piatt, Gideon P. Hewitt and Elias 
Trivett were appointed a committee to see if they 
could not secure a line to the village. This must 
have been an effort for a fast passenger day line, for 
there were already at least four boats each week to 
X^ew York towing barges and according to Gordon's 
Gazetteer two steamboats were principally owned in 
Dutchess County. Advertisements show that the 
steamboat Congress was towing the "tow-boat" (this 
was the old name for barge) Clinton from the Upper 
Landing, J. R. Gary & Co., every Wednesday after- 
ternoon ; the Union was towing the Hudson from the 
Union Landing, \'incent, Hayt & Co., every Friday. 
U. Gregory & Co., who conducted the Lower Land- 
ing, were not advertising in 1835, '" either the Eagle 
or the Telegraph, but in 1836 they announced a change 
of firm to Gregory, Hunt & Co., and also the 
sailings of the new and substantial barge "Poughkeep- 
sie." In 1836 G. I. Vincent & Co.* advertised the "tow- 
boat" Imion from Main Street Landing. The first 
mention I have seen of "Tow Boats" was in the Tele- 
graph. June 29th, 1825, when they were brought into 
use for passengers, who were thus carried "at such a 
safe distance as to be out of all danger should any 
accident happen to the boilers and free from the noise 
of the machinery." They were soon popular and were 
in use at most of the Poughkeepsie landings before 
1830. Back in 183 1 Ver Valin, Adriance & Co..- at 
the Union Landing advertised that they had bought 
the Steamboat Richmond, which would run to Xew 
\'ork every Wednesday for passengers and freight, 
and in 1837 G. Wilkinson & Co.^ at the Upper Land- 
ing announced the jnichase of the steamboat Emerald, 
which would run to New York. 

The Newburgh and Albany Line was started in 
1835, and there was also a line from Hyde Park to 
New York, stopping at Poughkeepsie. Gordon men- 
tions a steamboat plxing "twice a day from Pough- 
keepsie to Newburgh." Regular lines of sloops were 
still holding a share of the business, and in 1835 the 
sloop iNIarian, Capt. Joseph Tice, of the "Troy and 
Poughkeepsie Line," ran from "Marinus Pierce's Lum- 
ber Yard, foot of Main Street, north side of Steam- 
boat House," and the "Poughkeepsie and Albany 

iG. I. Vincent, Thomas M. Vail, H. Conklin and Robert 
Marshall. 

2I.saac H. Ver Valin, John .\driance, Hiram H. Van Vliet, 
and David Ver Valin. — Dutchess Republican, .\ug. 24, 1831. 

3Geo. Wilkinson, .\aron Innis, James R. Gary and How- 
land R. Sherman. — Telegraph 1837. The personnel of these 
freighting firms changed almost from year to year. 



lis 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIB 



Line," packet sloop Index. Ca])!. .\l)iahani ITndcr- 
uood. from the L'liper Landing. 

Tile strong; rivalry between the various up-river 
steamboats that landed at Main Street is well shown 
by an article in the Eni^lc of April 22. 1835 under di'j 
head of: 

STEAMBOAT DEWITT CI.IXTOX A MEAN THICK. 

It is universally admitted, we believe, that the 
steamboat DeWitt Clinton is one of the best night 
boats in the United States * * * We therefore 
deeply regret to find ourselves under the necessity of 
recording a very mean and unwarrantable trick, per- 
foriucd by the officers of this boat on the 12th inst. 
* * ''' There were on that evening three boats 
coming down the river: the North America between 
two and three miles ahead of the others, and the 
Westchester just far enough ahead of the De \\'itt 
Clinton to reach the landing first. The two first boats 
made their regular landings, but about twenty pas- 
sengers waited to take the DeWitt Clinton, not doubt- 
ing that she would sto]i. To the surprise of every- 
body she sent her passengers ashore at the Upper 
dock with a small boat, and then dashed gallantly past 
giving the passengers who had waited for her an 
opportunity of witnessing her energetic moveiuents. 
and reflecting at leisure on the pleasure of being 
left behind till the next night. 

As to the freighting business the steamboats and 
"tow boats" did in 1835, tlie following from the B(i_^lc 
of Dec. i^th is interesting: "The amomit of pork 
and other freight taken to New York by our tow 
boats for the past ihree weeks has been almost in- 
creditable. The\ have left four times each week and 
ha\e carried u]>on an average nearly or quite three 
hundred tons of freight each. * * * Our streets 
have been constantl\- crowded wilh teams from all 
]iar(s of this county, with many from different i)arts 
of Columbia and Ulster Counties, and also some from 
Connecticut." There was a .special cause for this 
rush, as a cold snap had closed the river above Pongh- 
kee])sie. and that very day. according to the next 
week's Eai^lc. the thermometer began to go dnwu uulii 
it reached 22 degrees below zero at the .\cadem\ on 
the 17th. "being the coldest weathir ever known at this 
jilace since thermometers have been used except the 
famous cold Monday of last year, when it simk to 

2(J." 

This was a period of great development for the 
hotels everywhere, a by-product of the freighting busi- 
ness. The Exchange 1 louse at the foot of Main Street 
was built in 1834, and Cai)t. Warren Skinner, one of 
the early proprietors, is said to have made a fortune 
there. It was a popular summer resort for New 
Yorkers. .Xboul 1S31 Tlu-odorus Gregory bought the 
Kastern House, corner of .Main and Catherine Streets, 



developing it from a small tinern to a good hotel, later 
to acquire fame as a temperance house. Isaac 
I. iJalding's Northern Hotel, corner of Mill and Wash- 
ington, was also flourishing. Traveling evervwhere 
was greatly stimulated by the steamboat, but in winter 
the stage coach still held sway, even on the Post Road. 
"Owing to the bad travelling to the north." savs the 




Xoi ///,/// //,i/i/./ivi/i /y//i>/,>i; /;!/•// iiuitic about /Sy-i. 

Iiilcllij^fiiccr of .March jyih. 1S33. "or U> tlie attract- 
iveness of our village ami the excellent hotels it con- 
tains, we have been favored for a few days with the 
l^resence of several gentlemen direct from Washing- 
ton. Among them were Hon. Silas Wright, John A. 
Collier, Gen. Root and Gen. Pitcher. They appeared 
in fine health and spirits, the recent canqiaign against 
nullification notwithstanding." 

There is ample testinujny' as to the growth of the 
village at this time. Gordon's Gazetteer ( 1836). be- 
fore quoted, says, "The increase of the village in the 
last six years has been 100 per cent," and adds: 

"Since 1831 more than $100,000 have been ex- 
pended in o])ening. regulating and paving streets ; over 
$25,000 in the construction of a reservoir, pipes, etc., 
for supplying the village with water for the extin- 
i|nishment of fires, and the following valuable im- 
provements have been made: 1000 feet of dock and 
bulkhead including the new shi])yar(l and dock of the 
whaling com])anies (which alone have a water front 
iif 4^0 feet) a new brick brewery near 200 feet long, 
a silk factor\- of brick 4 stories high, 36 x 100 feet, 
a nt'w market and village hall at a cost of $20,000, 2 
Ki)iscopal churches, a new Baptist church on the site 

l.'X little voUinie entitled "Letters about the Hudson" 
( I'Vriin.iu. Hunt & Co., New York, 1837), contains several 
lot I lis frcMU rouglikccpsic describing its advantages and its 

L'l-dWtb. 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 



119 



of the old one, a Roman Catholic Church, a second 
Presbyterian Church, a collegiate school ■/■/ x lOO feet, 
a young ladies' seminary of large dimensions, two 
elegant banking houses, a new post office and rai-.ge 
of offices attached, a new park or square highly orna- 
mented and stocked with deer, a splendid mansion 
house opposite and about 40 fashionable modern dwel- 
lings mostly of brick in the immediate vicinity. Four 
whaling ships have been built or fitted for sea, and 
the keel of another lately laid, besides numerous 
schooners sloops and tow boats. Within the last year 
upwards of 160 buildings have been erected, proper- 
ty has risen greatly in value, and in 1835 there was 
not a single unoccupied tenement in the village." 

This quotatinn fnmi ('idi'ddii imlicatcs aljout tlu' 
date of the erection of a new Christ Church ( the 
old one torn down in 1889), the building of the Con- 
gregational Church (first organized as a Second 
Presbyterian) and of the first Roman Catholic church 
in Poughkee]:)sie. Some of Gordon's items deserve 
more than pas.-;ing notice. The "new market and vil- 
lage hall" mentioned was authorized at a village meet- 
ing in the spring of 1831. On May 24th the trustees 




7/i,- I i/Zaxr //"//. 'io:c the ( V/v //<i//. Photograplud in /SSn. 
7c/u II the rciir hiiildiii^ iL-as fieiicd. 

voted the payment of $6,000 to Paraclete Potter and 
Gilbert P>rewster for the site, and on June 13th an 
additional piece of land was purchased of Benjamin 
1 lowland at a cost of $1,000 "for the purpose of 
steighting the Market site and giving sufficient room 
for the fish market." The corporation borrowed 
$12,000 for the expenses of building and lot, and July 
uth ordered notices published for proposals "for 
building a public market 90 feet long and thirty-six 
feet wide two stories High to be built of brick in a 
good and substantial manner and the upper part to 
be finished for ])ublic rooms." John B. Forbus. 
James B. Frear and A. J. Coffin were the Ijuilding 
committee, and in .August they contracted with John 



G. Sturgis and Wm. Carey, who agreed to put up 
the building for $7,200. It was finished before win- 
ter, and remains serviceable, though considerable ad- 
ditions have recently been made in the rear to accom- 
modate the city police and public w(M-ks departments. 
The use of the lower floor as a market continued un- 
til about the time of the war. 

The Reservoir axd the Big Fire of 1836. 

The establishment of the first central water supplw 
was not effected without a long struggle. A water 
ccinqiany was incorporated in 1831. but seems not to 
have done an\- work, and apparently its incorporators. 
W'.iltiT Cunningham. James Hooker. Gilbert Brews- 
elr, William Thomas and Alexander Forbus, did not 
oppose action by the village. The first definite action 
recorded was the resolution of March ist, 1833, 
]iassed by a "Meeting of the Trustees together with 
Freeholders and inhabitants" as follows: 

Resolved that the Trustees be Authorized and em- 
powered to purchase a Lot in their disgression f(jr the 
purpose of erecting a cistern or fountain sufficient 
to supply the village with water from the Falikill for 
tlie extinguishment of fires and leading the same over 
tile village in pil-)es, if it shall be found expedient so to 
<lo and the following gentlemen shall be a committee 
associated with the Trustees for the purpose of 
determining as to the Expediency. Viz : James 
Hooker, Walter Cunningham. Matthew \''assar. Rich- 
ard D. Davis and Rufus Potter. 

The committee began to meet difficulties at the 
start, the most serious from the owners of mil! 
privileges and water rights on the Fall Kill. Henry 
Swift, one of the leading lawyers of the day. gave 
a formal opinion that the trustees had the right to 
take water from the creek, and John Brush gave a 
contrary opinion at a meeting held July 25th. There 
was also a remonstrance from James Reynolds, Aaron 
Tunis and other owners of mill privileges, and another 
from "Thomas Sweet, James Emott and ninety-one 
rither individuals" asking that action be deferred. The 
trustees, under the ])residency of George P. Oakley, 
nevertheless went ahead. .\t a special meeting August 
1st "it was resolved unanimously that the Trustees 
IJroceed to build the reservoir, and lay pipes from it 
to the Dutch Reformed Church." They had already 
chosen the Reservoir site on land purchased for $1,000 
of Ca])tain Joseph Harris on the top of the hill since 
known as Cannon Street Hill. A meeting of the 
"Freeholders and Inhabitants" authorized an expendi- 
ture not ti) exceed $i5.ocxi. Tlien there was a law 
suit over water rights, but finall\- on May 19th. 1834. 
it is recorded that "CajJtain Harris delivered the deed 
to the village for Reservoir lots" and the Eagle of 



120 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 



November 4th, 1835, rejoiced that the reservoir had at 
last beeen completed at a cost of $30,000. and con- 
troversies settled. It was to be used only for extin- 
guishing fires. 

The severe drought of that fall jirevented it fmni 
getting any water until after the middle of December, 
and it was temporarily out of water again, undergoing 
repairs, on the memorable night of Thursday, May 
1 2th, 1836, when "Poughkeepsie was visited by the 
most extensive fire that has ever been known in this 
place," words still true to-day. From the brick build- 
ing now occupied by Charles L. Dates it burned all 
buildings on the south side of Main Street to Acad- 
emy. When the fire broke out at 11.30 in the shop 
of Messrs. Gorman & Nelson, cabinet makers, there 
was a strong south wind blowing and the flames 
spread very rapidly. Sparks set fire to the roofs of 
several houses on the north side of the street "being 
all of w(-iod and (lr\- as tinder." The destruction of 
all the northern part of the village seemed inevitable, 
but. 'At this critical and frightful juncture, (the forc- 
ing pump for supplying the reservoir having been 
put in operation almost as soon as the fire appeared) 
an abundant supply came down from the reservoir, 
and most fortunately at this time also the wind sub- 
sided to a calm." By truly heroic efforts the firemen 
and citizens put out the fires on the north side of the 
street and managed to confine the destruction on the 
south side to the frame buildings. Meantime people 
had moved out their goods and furniture from most 
of the buildings between Garden and Catherine streets, 
and from some nulch further away. Even Primrose 
Green (lirookside) the new residence of George P. 
(Oakley, "half a mile away," was considered in danger 
at one time. The loss was given as $50,000 and the 
buildings burned belonged to David 1!. Lent, Henr\ 
Flagler, Leonard Maison, Wm. T. Livingston. N. G. 
Cairnes, Mrs. Leonard Davis and the estate of Charles 
Warner. They were cx:cupied by the stores of J. A. 
Wendover, Wm. Frost and Henr\- Powell, the Cold- 
stream tobacco factory. Haggadorn's shoe store. Lent 
& Bogardus's saddle and harness stores, Llarvev's 
Confectionery, Miss Pell's millinery. Flagler & Ad- 
riance's grocery and several minor establisliments. 

The FiRii Dep.vrtmknt. 

This fire occurred just before the annual village 
election, of May 17th, at wliich a resolution was 
passed to establish fire limits — "the lots on both sides 
of the streets now paved" — within whicli "all build- 
ings hereafter to be erected shall he rt(|iiired to ha\e 
their outer walls constructed of brick or stone and 
tlieir roofs of Slate, Tile or Metal." The following 



appropriations were carried at this election, the last, 
by the way, which was held in May, later village elec- 
tions occurring in March : 

For the \illage Watch $2,000 00 

New Engine and for a Engine & Hook & 

Ladder house on the Market Ground . . 2,500 00 
For a new Engine House near the Booth 

Pond 300 00 

For a lot on which to erect the same 200 00 

For a Hose house near Academy & Main 

Street 200 00 

For contingent expenses 3,000 00 

For a new Hay Scales on Market Ground . . 200 00 

The fire department was already pretty well de- 
veloped, with three engine companies, two hose com- 
panies and a hook and ladder company. The hose 
companies appear to have been organized soon after 
the completion of the reservoir and hydrants on Main 
Street in 1835. the first mention of Hose Co. No. i 
l)eing the appointment of Israel P. Hall as foreman, 
March 5th. Eli Jennings was commissioned as fore- 
man of "Engine Co. No. 5," at the trustees meeting 
of May 29th, but this company was organized as 
Hose Co. No. 2, afterwards known as Howard Hose. 
The organization of Engine Co. No. 4^ was authorized 
at the same time, but was not carried out until after the 
appropriations voted at the next annual meeting, 
quoted above, and is recorded in the minutes of Nov. 
3d, 1836. The hook and ladder house erected on the 
Market ground as a result of the 1836 vote was prob- 
ably the old Phoenix house-. The village minutes do 
not seem to show the date of the formal organization 
of the hook and ladder men into a company. There 
was a foreman of "Hooks" as early as 181 1. and the 
village, ( )ctober 17th. 1831, paid Paraclete Potter 
$67.50 for rent of a lot for Hook and Ladder House, 
but the ladders seem to have been carried to fires by 
the members up to March 25tli, 1836 when the chief 
engineer was authorized to purchase a "Hook and Lad- 
der Carriage." and 1836 appears to be the first cer- 
tain date of "Hook & Ladder Co. No. i" in the reg- 
ister of firemen's certificates. The name "Davy Crock- 
ett" was probably given in 1838, when it was first 
jiainled on the truck. On March 30th, 1837, the 
trustees of the village "Resolved that another Hook 
& Ladder Company to be called Hook & Ladder Co. 
No. 2. be established and the following persons be 
commissioned as Firemen to he attached to said com- 
pany." The list is missing from the records. 

There are occasional reports in the papers of this 
period of the visits of firemen from other towns, but 

' l'(ir list of charter members of No. 4, see Appendix. 
-'I'liis builrlinpr was Iniilt in 1837, according to a com 
niilUc report made .•\pril 21, 1851. 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEBPSin 



121 



I have seen none in which the home companies were 
given names. 

Churches and Schools. 

The building of the new churches mentioned by 
Gordon indicates that the growth of the village had 
brought in a share of the foreign immigration then 
coming to America. The two Episcopal churches 
indicate the coming of Englishmen, and the arrival 
of North of Ireland immigrants and occasional Scotch- 
men doubtless helped tn bring the Presbyterian 
strength up to a point wlicre a permanent organiza- 
tion, a building and a settled pastorate were possible. 
As we have seen, the Presbyterians were very early on 
the ground, l)ut were not able to build a church. Sonic 
of them doubtless entered the Dutch Church' after the 




O/cl C/irisl Chiinli. erected jSjj. Tom do-aii to make ivcni 
for tlie Arvioiy, /SSi). 

use of the Dutch language had been abandoned, but 
they again fornie(I an organization in 1S17, and in 
1821, accjuired the little burying ground on Main 
Street, east of the junction of Church. This, I be- 
lieve, was the old Lewis family burying ground. One 
of the headstones indicates that the first Leonard 
Lewis, who died in 1730, was buried there. For a time 
services were held in the Lancaster School building, but 
in September, 1826, they purchased of Dr. William 
Thomas the Cannon Street lot next west of the Dutch- 
lA recent letter from Mr. Henry J. Ruggles, who lived 
as a boy in the Ruggles (afterwards Hooker) house on Mar- 
ket Street, until his family moved away in 1824, says : "I 
do not remember any Dutch Church, so called, in Pough- 
keepsie. But possibly the Presbyterian Church was a Dutch 
Reformed. Of this a Dr. Cuyler was pastor. Tt was situated 
on Main Street on the south side some little distance west- 
ward from the Court House." 



ess County /Vcademy. There were then eighteen mem- 
bers^ and Joseph Allen, David Hibbard. William Wil- 
liams, and Marquis de LaFayette Phillips were chosen 
as ruling elders. The trustees were George B. Evert- 
son, Nehemiah Conklin, David B. Lent, Joseph Allen, 
John S. Meyers, M. D. L. F. Phillips, John B. Swart- 
wout, Samuel Lee and John Beckwith. The building 
was dedicated on December 19th and the next day Rev. 
Alonzo Welton was installed the first pastor. In 1827 
the trustees bought of David B. Lent the lot on Church 
Street, in the rear of the Church, and there built the 
first ]iarsou;i!_;e. whirh is still standing. 




Presbyten't!/! C/iuir/i, on t/ie site o/'t/tr )'. W. C. .1. fliiitJiif^. 

At the time the church was built the controversy 
that in 1837 divided the denomination into "New 
School" and "Old School," was raging, and, finding 
his congregation much divided, Mr. Welton left in 
1831. After an absence of four years he returned 
and organized a Second Presbyterian Church, to 
which seventy-one persons were dismissed from the 
first church. Mr. Welton is said to have been a "New 
School" man, but his church had disbanded before the 
actual division of the denomination, and when that 
division took place the older organization became and 
remained "New School." Probably his following was 
largely personal. In June, 1835, the Second Presby- 
terian Church asked the parent congregation to give 
it the old \^an Kleeck burial lot, on the west side 
of V'assar Street — a lot which had come into the 
hands of the Presbyterians — as a site for a church 
edifice, but the trustees found that the}' had no legal 
power to do this, and the seceders thereupon obtained 
property on the corner of Mill .Street and Vassar. and 
erected the building which still stands, now a Jewish 
Synagogue. Being few in numbers and heavily in 
debt Rev. Jedediah Burchard. a noted evangelist, was 
engaged to hold a revival, which was notable not onlv 
as adding more than two hundred members to the 
new church, but because it stirred up a controversy 
'Sketch of Presbyterian Church history, compiled by Mr, 
James B. Piatt, in Year Book for 1900. 



122 



HISTORY OF POUGHKBEPSIB 



which created much feeling and called forth a pam- 
phlet from John Thompson, then a young lawyer, 
afterwards one of the leading lawyers in Poughkeep- 
sie and an elder in the Presbyterian Church, on 
"Burchardism vs. Christianity." The new church went 
to pieces in the panic of '37, and had to give up its 
building, but in July of that year many of its mem- 
bers organized as a Congregational ChurchV, called 
Rev. Almon Underwood as their pastor, and the 
next year were strong enough to repurchase the edi- 
fice. 

Roman Catholics were comparatively few in 
Poughkeepsie until the days of railroad building, but 
the abundance of work provided by the operations of 
the Improvement Party had brought enough of them 
by 1832 or 1833 to warrant an occasional effort to get 
them together by mission priests sent out from New 
York. The first mass was said, according to the best 
obtainable information, in the old \'an Klceck house 
on Mill Street, about this time. It was occupied then 
by George Belton, who with his brother. William, 
came from Ireland in 1831, and settled here the same 
year. The first church, where the present St. Peter's 
is located, was erected about 1837 on a lot conveyed 
by "John Delafield of the city of New York," one of 
the men who furnished capital for the Improvement 
Party, "to the Right Reverend John DuBois^, Catholic 
Bishop of New York." There is no definite record of 
names of the first priests in charge. 

It was during this period that the Dutch Church, 
under the able pastorate of Rev. Cornelius C. Cuyler 
(i8cx)-i833) built its third building, the first on the 
present site (1822) and again entered upon the policy 
of disposing of its surplus Main Street land by long 
leases, the previous controversy having been settled. 
These were made before the real estate boom had 
gained headway, but nevertheless at a time when the 
town was rapidly growing. Three lots on the north 
side of Main Street, where the second church 
had stood, were first leased to Henry D. Myers, 
but the principal lea.se was made May ist, 1830, to 
Gilbert Brewster for a term of ICK) years at an annual 
rental of $550. The lot so conveyed had a frontage 
of 62 feet on Main Street and 61 feet 10 inches on 
Market Street. The church authorities agreed to re- 
move the buildings (small frame aflfairs) on the prop- 
erty and "to dig up and remove the corpses in 
the premises." Here was erected the "Brewster 
Block," long considered the finest business block in 
town, and still an important building. Of equal date 
and term with this lease to Brewster were leases 
iDaily Eagle, July 27, 1895. The information came from 
the late James H. Dudley, who was one of the organizers. 
-Daily Eagle, July 6, 1895. 



for Main Street frontages of eighteen feet to John 
B. Forbus, eighteen feet to Grififin Williamson, eigh- 
teen feet to Stephen Frost and Townsend E. Gidley, 
each at an annual rental of $108; of 21 feet 8 inches to 
John Caswell at $129 and of 4 feet at $20 to James 
B. Freer, whose lot formed the eastern boundary of 
the church propert)-. Thomas W. Tallmadge had 
previously leased a lot between the last two. These 
lots are about 92 feet deep. The lessees agreed to 
erect substantial brick buildings of uniform height 
and appearance. For the church those who signed the 
agreements were "Cor. C. Cuyler, Minister, J. E. Van 
X'alkenburgh. David \'er \'alin. Sidney M. Livingston, 
Amos T. DeGrofif, Abraham Overbaugh, Isaac Roose- 
velt, Robert Forrest, Law I. V. Kleeck. Peter A. 
Schryver and Charles W. Tallmadge." The leasing 
of the property, and especially the removal of the 
"corpses" caused a heated controversy, rememhered by 
some persons still living. 

The Friends, in 1820, had abandoned their old meet- 
ing house on Clover Street and erected a new one 
on the rear of a Washington Street lot' purchased of 
Samuel Pine in the name of John Green and Caleb 
Barker. The town assessment book of the year 1818 
gives a list of Quakers taxed $4 each, as follows : 
James Downing, Silas Downing, Zebulon Haight, 
Joseph Howland, Peleg Howland. Henry Kelly. Jno. 
Lockwood, Caleb Powell, Henry Powell. Edward 
Southwick, Robert B. Southwick, Jos. Thorne, Jr. 
William White. What the occasion of the special 
tax was I have not found out, but it was probably 
something in connection with military service, and 
certainly did not include all the Quakers in the neigh- 
borhood. After the separation of the Hicksite and 
Orthodox Friends, the latter were strong enough in 
1829 to purchase a lot on Mill Street, not far above 
Garden on the north side, and there built a meeting 
house, which is now a dwelling on Conklin Street. 
The Hicksites when Lafayette Place was opened in 
1841 traded their Washington Street frontage and 
turned their meeting house around to face the new 
street. It was altered into a double dwelling house in 
i8<j4. when the present meeting house was built ad- 
joining. 

Shortly after the Quakers had built on Washing- 
ton Street the Methodists- followed, and in 1826 Josi- 
ah Williams purchased for $650 the lot where East- 
man College now stands, and the new church there 
was dedicated Decenxber 27th of that year. The 
Methodists at that time had but 182 members and 
were $900 in debt on the old Jefferson Street building, 

1 Daily Eagle, July 13, 1895. 
^Vincent's "Methodism in Poughkeepsie," p. 18. 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 



12a 



but by 18,^7 they had increased to 616 and were talk- 
ing of organizing a second congregation. 

St. Paul's Church was part of the plan to build 
up the neighborhood around Mansion Square. It was 
organized in August. 1835. at a meeting of the boom- 
ers held at the Mansion House, a new hotel' (now the 
home of the Jewett family) and was built in the pre- 
vailing Grecian Doric st\le in 1837 on land donated 
by Walter Cunningham, Geo. P. Oakley and Para- 
clete Potter. Part of the funds were subscribed by 
the real estate owners, but Trinity Church, of New 
York, added $5,000. The first rector was Rev. F. W. 
Hatch, called from W'ashington, and the vestry was 
as follows : John Delafield and George P. Oakley, 
wardens ; Elias Trivett, N. P. Tallmadge, Charles H. 
Rugglcs, Paraclete Potter, James Grant. Jr., A. S. 
Hatch, Hiram \'eltnian and Samuel Dutton. 





^1 


m 




%M. 


^% 


WB'wagaBwSS«B^Bit8HI 


...^.•^.^ 


^M 



Co//,:i:r Hill Sdiool niiildi)!^. 

As they built churches so also the Improvement 
Party, built schools, and it was due to their energy 
and wisdom that Poughkeepsie academies and semi- 
naries attained something like preeminence in the 
state, attracting pupils from all parts of the country. 
The crowning achievement was the purchase and im- 
provement of a commanding elevation, north of the 
village, and the erection of that famous imitation of 
the Parthenon, so long known as College Hill School. 
This property had been improved early in the cen- 
tury by Thomas Fenner, who is said to have built the 
fine house at the foot of the hill — the house now known 
as the Morgan Homestead — and also the road to the 
summit of the hill. His land extended all the way to 
the Dutchess Turnpike, and it was from his executors 

iWashington Davids, grandfather of the present city edi- 
tor of the Eagle, was one of the first proprietors. After a 
few years as a hotel the building was long used as a Quaker 
school. 



that David !!. Lent purchased his Smith Street prop- 
ert\-. Fenner died in 1815, and Levi McKeen occu- 
pied the place for several years. In 1834, when Henry 
Whinfield made his map of the village, the house on 
Oakley Street and the hill were in the possession of C. 
P. Adriance, and the hill is marked "Adriance's Hill." 
It had already obtained some renown as a sightly loca- 
tion when the Improvement Party purchased it. 

The Collegiate School was incorporated in 1835 by 
N. P. Tallmadge, George P. Oakley. John Delafield. 
Peter P. Hayes, Walter Cunningham, Paraclete Pot- 
ter, Stephen Hendrickson. Gideon P. Hewitt, Elias 
Trivett, Gamaliel Gay and Jacob Van Benthuysen. 
Charles Bartlett, who had been conducting a school 
at Fishkill Landing, became its principal in 1836, when 
it was opened. 

The Poughkeepise Female Seminary was incor- 
porated in 1834 by almost the same men except that 
James Bowne, Henry Conklin and Stephen B. Trow- 
bridge appear among them. This company purchased 
of Henry \. Livington two lots on the north side 
of Mill Street, each 33 feet wide, June 9th, 1835, and 
in 1836 purchased an additional piece of land ex- 
tending to the Fall Kill (Lib. 57, p. 171 and Lib. 58, 
]>. 41). There is no mention of Garden Street in 
these deeds and the property evidently did not include 
tile old Levi McKeen house. Cottage Hill, which was 
afterwards called the "Seminary," and had been used 
as a school, before this time, .\pparentl\- this incor- 
porated Female Seminary was merged with the Fe- 
male .Academy wdiich built the large school building 
in Cannon Street (now the W. C. T. I', building), 
and opened in May, 1836, with Miss Arabella Bos- 
wcirtli as the first principal. Miss Bosworth was a 
teacher of high reputation and had conducted success- 
ful girls' schools in several locations about the village, 
one of which was the old Dutchess Hotel building, 
corner of Mechanic and Cannon Streets. In 1838 
Mrs. Isabella Holt was principal of the Female Acad- 
emy, which advertised board and tuition in English 
and Latin for a term of 22 wrecks at $75. "Mons. 
Aweng" was the teacher of French, and continued an 
active teacher until almost the time of his death a 
few years ago. 

Mrs. Congdon's Seminary was advertised in 1835, 
and Miss Lydia Booth's Female Seminary' must have 
started not long afterwards in the Cottage Llill build- 
ing. Miss Booth was a step niece of Matthew Vassar, 
and in "Vassar College and Its Founder" (p. 59), Mr. 
Lossing says the Cottage Hill building had once "ac- 
quired no little fame as the shelter of the exiled 

iThe first of Miss Booth's advertisements I have seen was 
in 1838. She issued her "r4th semi-annual circular" in 1843 



l-_'4 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 



Bi)url)oii of the ( )rleans line. Louis Phillippe. after- 
wards king of France, who was accompanied by Prince 
Talleyrand." I know of no evidence in support of 
this statement, but in later years Mr. Lossing lived in 
the house next south of Cottage Hill on Garden Street, 
and he may have had information not now accessible 
about its early historx-. 

One of the most important school improvements 
of this period was the building of a new Dutchess 
County Academy on the corner of Hamilton and 
Montgomery Streets, a location then pretty well out- 
side of the villao-e. The old buildins- was sold in 



Most of the important buildings mentioned in this 
chapter can readily be identified in the excellent pic- 
ture of Poughkeepsie in 1836, on the opposite page. 
The large house in the foreground is still standing, 
on the corner of Xorth Clinton and Oakley Streets, 
though much changed in appearance by the loss of 
its Grecian columns and the addition of verandas. 
It was for a long time the home of David .\rnold. 
At the left is Mansion Square, with the Mansion 
House (now the Jewett House), the large building 
on the southwest corner of Clinton Street and Man- 
sion Square, and the old Thomas L. Davies house. 



THE •PQTTft inrTrnp gTT! OOIiIiEGIATB SOHOOZi, Incorpora'.cd MayfJe, 1836, 
1000 .shares of 100 dollars each, maklus 100,000 <loUarafC»p«*l. . 



J^£g Jg! \)M m-iStV^.^ that X/ 








IS lae owner uj // i/v^r^j^^^ ury^ — ,^- ^ ^ ^ ^ , ' - j -1 ^^ 

'CapltatStotk^ th^TUfUghk^epsie. CoUegiale ^'chpoU g:t.t. ,iQJiicfi hqp .^ee«i,sX 
pqiilt tliesum indorsed on this certificate, tM residue jtmjahlehy ijnstanmcj)is,\ ^ %^^ 
tctwn ordered by thc^I^ard of Trustees, transferable only on the hooks of\ r. ^ 
this- Corporation, at the office of t lie Treasurer, hy flci^ or /tc^ ! |^ 
attorney, mi surrender of this certificate. i '^^^ v 




Slock of Ihc l>oui;hl;cc[>iic Collciiialf Sfhool. 



1S37 to J(]hn ]''(]rl)us and was reniowd from the street 
to which it gave its name to the corner of Thompson 
and North Clinton Streets, where it still stands. One 
of the last principals in the old building was Eliphaz 
Fay, who in 1835 went to the New Paltz Academy 
for a time, then entered the ministry, and finally re- 
turned to Poughkeepsie to conduct a private school 
still well remembered In' older residents. He died in 
1854. William ji'nny was the first princi]ial of the 
new Academy, and at that time there were one hun- 
dred and twelve pupils, .Many per.sons of jirominence 
were educated in the ,\cademv. 



conspicuous. St. Paul's Church was not \et built, l)ut 
a little further west is the Matthew J. Myers house, 
in iS^'i. and for several years later the home of Gid- 
eon 1'. I lewitl, .More in the backgroimd are 
the Dutchess C'ounl\ Ac;i(leniy. tin- I 'resb\ terian 
CInn-ch, Christ Church, the J'Vmale Academy, the 
Court Mouse, and the Dutch Church. The little 
eluu-eh almost at the extreme right is probabl\ the 
old St. Peter's. The jjicture presents in the fore- 
ground the chief neigh))orhooil which the Improve- 
ment Party was booming, with the newest buildings 
particiil;irly ]ironiinent. Mansion S(|uare was evi- 



126 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 



dt'iitly not yet inclosed and it is very doubtful if Gor- 
don ever had any warrant for his statement thai it 
was "stocked with deer." (See p. 119). It is also 
difficult to pick out the "40 fashionable modern dwell- 
ings mostly of brick in the immediate vicinity." The 
exaggeration usual at a time of real estate booming 
was doubtless to be e.xpected. 

The Re-m. Est .ate Boom. 

A few words in closing this chapter should be 
said about the culminating speculation of the period. 
The b(X)m was well started in Poughkeepsie by 1835. 
The Bogle of May 27th, says : 

"As an instance of the rise in real estate in this 
village, we will mention that two lots in the nortliern 
section, which last year were sold for $3.75 per foot, 
again changed hands last week and brought $20 per 
foot." 

Truly a fair profit! Who would buy lottery tickets 
or speculate in stock exchange securities, with so 
good a chance to get rich right under his nose at 
home ! The Eagle of Oct. 28th, describes one of the 
big sales as follows : 

The public sale of village lots by Geo. P. Oakley, 
Esq. on Thursday last, went ofi' with Spirit and activ- 
ity which many did not expect. Every lot advertised 
— si.xty-nine in number — was sold and at a fair price, 
ranging from $12 to 75 cents a foot, the lots selhng 
lowest being situated on low ground and on the mar- 
gin of the red mill pond. The total amount of the 
sales was $11,750.77. We understand that upon these 
sales Mr. Oakley realized an advance of more than 
$6,cxx)." 

It was natural in the midst of such a boom that 
the census of 1835 should prove unsatisfactory, and 
fail to show as many people as the improvement party 
hoped. The local papers complained vigorously and 
even refused to print the figures — 6,281, according to 
Williams's American Register (1836) compared with 
5,023 in 1830. The enumerator must nevertheless 
have counted most of the boarding school girls, for 
there was a large excess of females, and Freeman 
Hunt', in a letter dated Sept. 25th, sa\s: 

"If you have any xnung men in your goodly city 
in want of wives, and good ones 1 liave no doubt — 
some of the fair are certainly very beautiful — I advise 
you to send them on forthwith to the care of our 
gallant yovmg friend of the Poughkeepsie Hotel. {A. 
S. Hatch), as there are in the village, according to tlie 
census just C(jniplete(l, one thousand one hundred and 
thirteen unmarried young ladies, ready doubtless, to 
enter into the blissful state of matrimony." 

Apparently the advance of property continued with 



near the reservoir and Alain street 



'Letters About the Hudson, p. 19. 



little interruption up to the early part of the year 1837, 
when Walter Cunningham was advertismg as follows: 

UEsiK.\iiLE \'n.i,AGU Lots tor S.\i.E. 
5 lots upon Maul St. lying nearly opposite the residence of 

Mr. Vassar. 
10 •■ ■■ Union St. next Mrs. Taylor's residence. 
5 '■ " Jefferson street 

15 " ■■ Academy street 

16 " " Holmes 

J7 " " Montgomery 

30 " " Church 

3J " " Cherry 

20 " " Cedar 
ID •' " Mansion' street near the Mansion House and 

Mansion square 
II" " Cottage street 

8 " '■ Clinton " 
ID " " Hamilton " 

15 " " Catherine " 
5 " " Conklin " 

9 '■ " Mansion street, near the Seminary property. 
5 " " Washington " 

iS •• ■• Delafield 

16 " " Tallmadge " 

21 •• •■ Water 

20 " " Dock " 

10 " " Hudson street and the river lying directly south 

of the Whale dock. 
5 " " Dutchess Ave., fronting on the Park near the 
residence of N. P. Talmadge Esq. 
.•\ credit of 5 years with interest annually will be given to 
those who purchase to improve. 

Some of these lots doubtless have not yet been 
built upon, and would not bring as high a price now 
as they did then, and some streets mapped during the 
boom have remained unopened or have been opened 
on different lines and with different names only re- 
cently. Despite all the activity in real estate, and the 
laying out and grading of many new streets the village 
north of Mill Street and south of Montgomery was 
still mostly "on paper" only, a fact rather graphically 
illustrated in the newspapers of the day whenever a 
circus came to town. The circus grounds were on 
Mill Street, "near the hotel of Isaac I. Balding" — the 
old Northern Hotel, corner of Washington Street. 
"The Green," on the opposite (southeast) corner, 
wlure (he militia had trained probably as late as 1820. 
was only partly built up and Mill Street still show- 
ed vacant lots and ample space between houses. 

On the .south side there were very few houses south 
cif (."amidii Street, except on Academy and Market 
and on the nld part of Church Street, between .\cad- 
emy and Market Streets. 

The leaders of the Impmvement Parly, however, 
showed their faith in the future by building large 
houses for themselves in the new sections. Senator N. 
P. Tallmadge built on Delafield Street the house af- 



HISTORY OF POUGHKBEPSIE. 



127 



terwards purchased by Captain Luther Elting, and 
George P. Oakley built Brookside, then called Prim- 
rose Green, though he lived there only a very short 
time, the place passing into the possession of Judge 
Charles H. Ruggles. This house was originally an 
exact duplicate of the house built by Gilbert Wilkinson 
on Garden Street, afterwards for a long time the 
home of Abraham Wiltsie. 

It may interest some people to know that even in 
those busy times Poughkeepsie had its "haunted 
house.'' Henry Brush was the owner and the house 
was located on the corner of Pine and Tulip Streets. 
The words "haunted house" appear in the occupant 
column of the assessment roll. 

Unfortunately most of the old assessment rolls are 
not to be found and most of those available are for the 
Town of Poughkeepsie, and not for the village. Of 
these I have found none covering the years of the 
real estate boom. In 1831, however, the town assess- 
ment was $956,302 real estate and $699,350 personal, 
making a total of $1,655,652. In 1839 the total had 
increased to $4,458,060, made up of $2,624,342 real es- 
tate and $1,833,718 personal. The 1839 list shows 
that a considerable number of non-residents had been 
drawn into the real estate movement. John Delafield 
was the largest real estate holder among these. Jethro 



Delano was another, and he owned among other lots 
several on Jay Street, the occupants of which are put 
down as "Blacks." The Poughkeepsie Silk Company 
was assessed on many pieces of property, among others 
on "The Hoffman farm, north of Mill Street," and 
"The Phillips farm." The latter, I have been told, was 
the property now known as the Whitehouse Knolls, 
where it is said the company intended to raise mulberry 
trees. ( )f course Cunningham and Oakley and Tal- 
madge occupy a good deal of space in the assessment 
rolls of the day, and among others who owned more 
than four lots, or parcels of property each, were John 
Barnes & Co., assessed on the old French farm, south 
of Montgomery Street (see p. 109), Peter P. Hayes, 
Gideon P. Hewitt, Henry Brush, Caleb Barker, Solo- 
mon V. Frost, John Giles, Smith Thompson, Henry 
A. Livingston, David B. Lent, James Hooker, Joseph 
Harris, Uriah Gregory, Theodorus Gregory, William 
Davies, Thomas L. Davies, Henry Conklin, Nathan 
Conklin, Estate of Gilbert Brewster, Abel J. Gunn, 
Maria Tappen and Helen Overbaugh, Joseph Wright, 
Joseph Williams, Dr. Elias Trivett, James Mills, Abra- 
ham G. Storm, Jacob I. Eckert and Eli Jennings. 
The Forbus and \'assar families had large assessments, 
but on only a few parcels of property. 




-\, /'. Jalhiun/,;,' j/oust-. /.oiig the llniii,- in irrr 
of Ciiptain Lidher Elting. A'ou; Ihe home of 
C. W. H. Arnold, Esq. 



CHAPTER VII. 



From the Panic of 1837 to the Incorporation of the Citv of Poughkeepsie, 1854 — Political 
Effects of the Panic — Senator N. P. Tallmadge and the Conservatives — The Panic and 
THE Improvement Party — Building of the Railroad — The First Free Public Schools — The 
Public Library and the Lyceum — New Churches — The Rural Cemetery^First Daily News- 
papers — Gas Lighting — The Village Fire Department — A City Charter. 



The panic of 1837 followed a period of extraordin- 
ary real estate speculation throughout the country, 
stimulated by a great extension of credit from shaky 
banks. In Poughkeepsie, however, and in New York 
State generally the banks were able to weather the 
storm, though some of them had backed the boomers 
to a dangerous extent. 

On the nth of May, the New York city banks, by 
concerted action, suspended specie payments, and the 
three F'oughkeepsie banks of course had to follow 
them, as soon as they heard of the action. That same 
evening a public meeting at the Village Hall, presided 
over by Henry A. Livingston, passed resolutions ex- 
pressing approval of the suspension, pledging the sup- 
port of the ]5eople and asking the Legislature to sus- 
pend "imtil February next the operation of the law re- 
([uiring banks to redeem their notes in specie." The 
real estate boom had flattened out two or three months 
licfore this and by March there were many items in the 
local i)a])ers complaining of the increasing hard times, 
and (in the part of the Whig organ, charging the 
Udubles all to Jackson's anti-ljank policy and \'an 
I'luren's persistence in the same course. The final 
blow, nevertheless, seems to have been unexpected, 
and to have caused an almost total paralysis of busi- 
ness for a short time. In addition to the collapse of 
credit, the disappearance of all small change made it 
impossible to carry on retail trade. The Ea};lc de- 
risively asked, "Where is the boasted gold currency 
tliat appeared in the hands of the stool pigeons in 
1834? Where the vaunted 'yellow boys,' 'Benton mint 
drops,' and 'Jackson gold' that were soon to glitter in 
the purses of the citizens? Where the 'constitutinnal 
currency' that Gen. Jack.son exerted his 'humble ef- 
forts' to restore? Where the jirosperity of the country 



that was so sageh' attributed to the wisdom of the ad- 
ministration ?" 

The panic caused a tremendous outburst of parti- 
sanship and against the fierce invectives of the \\'higs, 
who saw at last the legitimate outcome of the financial 
policy they had been so long denouncing, the two 
Democratic organs made a rather feeble resistance. 
The publishers of both the Telegraph and the Journal 
joined with Senator Tallmadge in the call for a county 
convention, issued a few days after the supension, to 
demand the repeal of the law forbidding the issuing 
of small bills, although that law had been passed by 
their own party only a few years before. In the mean- 
time private bills of all sorts were put in circulation to 
keep business going, a fact whicli inspired a number 
of satirical squibs in the Eagle, like the following from 
the issue of June 3d : 

"Our readers will please to excuse any errors they 
may find in this ])a])er, for we have so many suiN 
i'LASTKus to print that we can hardly s])are time to 
give it necessary attention. Down with thK 

H.\NKS! !" 

Having taken his stand against one of the chief 
policies of his party. Senator Tallmadge gradually be- 
came the leader of a faction known as the Conserva- 
tives, who opposed the establishment of a sub-treasury 
and tlic withdrawal of government deposits from the 
lianks. The Journal warmly supported him and 
lioisted at tile liead of its editorial columns the motto 
"S.MAI. 1. Ilii.i.s AND i\o Sub Treasury." The breach 
with the regular Democracy, upon whom the term 
"Loco-Foco" was now fastened, steadily widened until 
'i'allmadge was finally read out of his party, and in the 
s|)ring of 1838 he was propo.sed as a Whig candidate 
fnr vice-president of the L'uited States, as we learn 
from tlic following editorial in the Eagle of May 19th 
under the head of: 



// / 5 V o R V or roue ii k n n p s i n. 



129 



CONSP.RVATIVF, NOMINATIONS. 

The New York Times — the leading conservative 
paper in this state — of Thursday last, displa3s the flag 
of Henry Clay, for the next presidency, and Nathaniel 
P. Tallmadge for the vice presidency. This movement 
is an important one, and it is said by those who profess 
to know that it will be followed by the conservatives 
of Mrginia. We look upon Mr. Clay's nomination by 
our National Convention, and subsequent election, to 
be as certain as any other future event. Towards Mr. 
Tallmadge we cherish the most friendly feelings per- 
sonally, but he must furnish evidence of repentance for 
his political sin of voting for the damning c.vpnngc of 
the tyrant Jackson's administration, and submit his 
claims to the national Convention, to obtain the sup- 
port of the Whigs. 

Presumably Senator Tallmadge furnished evidence 
of repentance when he supported, and virtually elected, 
William H. Seward governor of the State over Wil- 
liam H. Marcy in the fall. The Conservatives had a 
separate organization in Dutchess County in 1838. 
their central committee being Joseph Harris, Henry 
Conklin, Paraclete Potter, Gilbert I. Vincent, Samuel 
B. Button, William Broas, Peter P. Hayes, John M. 
Cable, Barnet Hawkins, John Adriance and Joseph H. 
Jackson. The last of these was the editor of the 
Ponghkccpsic Journal, which had been in the posses- 
sion of Jackson & Schram since 1834, and had been a 
Democratic paper since 1828. In September, 1838, it 
hoisted Seward's name above Marcy's for governor 
and became thereafter virtually a Whig organ, the 
Telegraph meanwhile, after some wabbling, which 
called down upon it occasional criticism from ex- 
treme Loco-Focos, swung back into line before the fall 
election. The Democratic or Loco-Foco Central Com- 
mittee of Dutchess County in this campaign was Elias 
T. Van Benschoten, Seward Barculo, Caleb Morgan, 
Elias Westervelt, George C. Marshall, Egbert B. 
Killey, Robert Mitchell, Elijah Baker and Isaac Nash. 
The W^hig committee was Henry A. Livingston, Gilbert 
W'ilkinson, John Cowles, Isaac I. Balding, Josiah Bur- 
ritt, Matthew Vassar, Jr., Isaac Piatt, John G. Parker, 
H. R. Sherman, William I. Street, and Jacob De Groff. 
The combination of Whigs and Conservatives car- 
ried everything, and the Whig legislature of 1839 
rewarded 'N. P. Tallmadge by re-electing him to the 
United States Senate, where he had become a leader 
of national importance. 

During the summer of 1839 both President \'an 
Buren and Henry Clay visited Poughkeepsic. \an 
Buren, who had been here several times before he 
becaiue President, arrived via the post road from the 
south on July 15th. He was met at Channingville by 

iThurlow Weed's Autobiography, p. 460. 



Hon. Charles II. Ruggles, then a circuit judge, and a 
considerable number of enthusiastic Democrats from 
Poughkeepsic. The ardor of the reception on the 
arrival of the President in the village was somewhat 
dampened by a steady rain, but marshalled by Gen. 
Leonard Maison, with Col. Henry Pine and David 
Barnes, Jr., as assistants, the procession traversed the 
most important streets and ended at the Poughkeepsie 
Hotel, where President \''an Buren remained over 
night. There were speeches and receptions, and the 
Telegraph said, "More than two thousand persons 
must have shaken the President by the hand during the 
day." These included very few of his opponents, for 
so intense was the partisan feeling that Conservatives 
and Whigs remained at home or came out only to jeer 
and taunt the Democrats. The Journal said of the 
President: "He comes among us like a snake in the 
grass, seeking under his official character to forward 
party measures," and the Eagle printed a long mock 
address to "His Majesty, King Martin I." In the 
morning President Van Buren drove down below tnwn 
to call upon Hon. Smith Thompson, who lived where 
the Rural Cemetery is now located, and then paid a 
visit to the school at College Hill, the pride of the 
village. 

Henry Clay's visit to Poughkeepsie occurred on 
Monday, August 19th. He came down from the north 
on the Steamboat Erie, accompanied by Senator Tall- 
madge and Gen. Brush and was welcomed by a great 
crowd of citizens from all parts of the county. He 
was escorted to the Poughkeepsie Hotel, then kept by 
Leonard B. Van Kleeck, where an address of welcome 
was delivered by Robert Wilkinson, Esq., to which 
the great Whig leader eloquently responded, address- 
ing the cheering crowd in the streets from the piazza 
of the hotel. "Who that visits Poughkeepsie," said 
Mr. Clay, "while admiring the beauty and pleasantness 
of the place, can forget the gallant band of Conserva- 
tives in this and adjoining counties, who burst asunder 
the shackles of party to unite with their former op- 
ponents and preserve their country and its institu- 
tions." This prefaced a warm personal tribute to Mr. 
Tallmadge. There was a reception at the court house 
and a dinner, attended by three hundred men, at the 
hotel, and in the afternoon Mr. Clay must needs be 
taken to visit the schools. At College Hill "he was 
introduced by Mr. I'artlett to a large number of 
ladies." Pie next visited the "flourishing Friends' 
Boarding School" on Mansion Square, and "in the 
evening he received the calls of ladies who repaired 
to the hotel in great numbers to see him. The rooins 
were also constantly thronged until ten o'clock by citi- 
zens." The next dav Mr. Clav drove in a barouche to 



130 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 



Fishkill, escorted by a cavalcade of horsemen from 
Wappingers Falls and a large number of his friends. 
The Eagle report says that a spectator on the steps 
of Christ Church counted eighty-six carriages in the 
procession at it passed down Market Street, and adds, 
"At no period in our history, the reception of La- 
Fa3'ette included, has such enthusiasm been witnessed 
among our people." A rather ungracious comparison 
was made with the reception of President Van Buren, 
who was described as "a haughty aristocrat with his 
coach and out rider, a dandy in tights displaying a 
courtly grace to the aristocracy and too proud to dine 
with the people." 

The disappointment of the Poughkeepsie A\'higs 
was keen enough at the failure of the Harrisburgh 
convention of December, 1839, to nominate Clay for 
the presidency, though the Eagle bowed to the "wis- 
dom of the convention" and even managed to say on 
the next week that the nomination of Harrison and 
Tyler gave "universal satisfaction." No local refer- 
ence seems to have been made at the time to the 
fact that Senator Tallmadge had refused ^ the nomina- 
tion for vice president on the ticket with General Har- 
rison, along with several other friends of Henry Clay. 
Could he have foreseen that "Tippecanoe and Tall- 
madge too" might have become a popular alliteration, 
he would probably not have thrust aside his one 
chance for the presidency of the United States, and 
Poughkeepsie's chance of being the home of a presi- 
dent. He seems to have repented his rashness before 
the next presidential campaign, for in 1843. the 
Poughkeepsie Journal carried his name at the top of 
its editorial column with Henry Clay's. I think there 
is no evidence that he had any very good chance for 
the nomination at that time, though he would doubtless 
have been a stronger candidate than Frelinghuysen. 
It is notable that during this time of partisan bit- 
terness the record of long tenure of the Poughkeepsie 
postofficc was made-. Col. Jacob \'an Lienthuysen had 
been appointed postniaskr by ['resident Jackson in 
1829. The extreme l<iico l>"ocos of Van llureu's 
administration made .some efforts to prevent his re- 
appointment and the Whigs objected somewhat to his 
retention under Harrison and T\kr. but he held the 
office to the time of his death in July, 1846, when 
President Polk aii])ointed Egbert B. Killey, editor of 
the Telegraph. The office, it is said, had been in the 
old "Lawyers' Row" — the site of the present post- 
office — in Market Street before Col. Van Benthuv- 
sen's time, but he moved it to Garden Street, doubtless 
to "the new post office" referred to in the quotation 
from Gordon's Gasetteer in the last chapter (p. 119). 
'Carl Schurz's "Henry Clay" Vol. II, p. t8o. 
-For list of postmasters of Poughkeepsie see .Appendix. 



This buliding stood on the east side of the street, and 
was a part of the property burned in the big fire of 
Dec. 26th, 1870. Mr. Killey continued the office there 
and it remained in the same place until May, 1851, 
when Isaac Piatt moved it back to Market Street, to 
the old Brush house, on the corner of Union Street, 
where it remained until Albert Van Kleeck took the 
more commodious quarters in the lower floor of the 
City Hall after the war. 

Mr. Albert S. Pease, who succeeded Isaac Piatt 
as postmaster in 1853, was a clerk in the old Garden 
Street office during Mr. Killey's term, and with An- 
drew Ely, another clerk, slept in the office. He relates 
that Mr. Killey had "a large and very noisy bell" 
suspended over their bed, so that they could be awak- 
ened if the mail arrived in the night, the bell being 
connected to a knob outside. It was not long before 
the boys and the general public learned the location of 
the knob "and it soon seemed to become the duty of 
every person who went through Garden Street, at any 
and all hours of the night, to give that knob a yank 
and make the clamorous, sleep-murdering bell ring 
like — Sheol." In those days, before the building of 
the railroad, the mails from north and south were 
still brought by stage coach when the river was closed 
in the winter. 

"The stages were due to arrive at some uncertain 
hour in the night — hence the supposed need of that 
accursed bell. Sometimes the stages from the north 
would be a day or two behind time, by reason of depth 
and drifts of snow. The mail they carried was all in 
one great leather bag as big as a hogshead, the whole 
contents of which had to be dumped out upon a great 
table and looked over, and after all matter for Pough- 
kee])sie and such county offices as had stage connec- 
tion from Poughkeepsie had been extracted, all the re- 
maining matter, together with that to be sent from 
Poughkeepsie, was returned to the great bag and 
hoisted upon the stage and safely secured in the 
'boot,' and away she went behind four weary horses 
wet with ice, snow and i)erspiration, which .steamed 
from their warm bodies in clouds of mist." 

Garden Street was a favorite neighborhood for 
lawyers' offices at this time, the "Law Building" on 
the west side of the street — where Frost & Luckey 
are located — having been recently erected. The Sur- 
rogate's office was there for some time before 1847; 
then after a contest of more than usual spirit, in which 
John P. H. Tallman defeated John Thompson, the 
little building on the corner of Market and Union 
Streets was erected by the county. It was built 
originally with only one room in order to prevent the 
Surrogate from carrying on his own law practice 
there. 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 



131 



In 1845 Daniel Webster was in Poughkeepsie ap- 
parently for several da^s, but his visit was not politi- 
cal. The Telegraph of Nov. 26, in its report of circuit 
court cases on trial at the Court House, has the follow- 
ing under date of Nov. 21st: 

■'Derrick Lansing and others vs. David Russell and 
wife and others. This is an issue from the Court of 
Chancery, sent here from the third circuit to try the 
\alidit_\- of two deeds executed by Cornelius Lansing, 
in hi.-; life time, and alleged by the plaintitTs to have 
been obtained by fraud. The cause commenced this 
morning and occupied all day, all day Saturday, Mon- 
day and Tuesday, and was still going on when our 
reporter left. * * * For the plaintiiif Judge Bnel of 
Troy, Messrs. Barculo «S: Swift of Pougiikeepsie. For 
the defense Hon. Daniel Webster of Mass., Samuel 
Stevens of Albany and Gen. Maison of Poughkeep- 
sie." 



was the official celebration, but each of the political 
parties had planned to take advantage of the occasion. 
The Democrats started the idea and then the Whigs 
determined to outdo them. Excursions by steamboat 
came from many river towns, and the crowd was esti- 
mated at from 10,000 to 15,000. The Democrats were 
content at length with a crowded meeting in tlie vil- 
lage hall, but the Whigs had a monster parade mar- 
shalled by Charles W. Swift, and a great mass meeting 
at College Grove, on the west side of College Hill, 
where Senator William C. Preston of North Carolina, 
and Hon. Henry A. Wise of \'irginia, were among the 
speakers. A dinner at the Poughkeepsie Hotel, and 
more speaking in the evening, from a platform in front 
of the Court House, followed. 

The log cabin, raccoon and hard cider, and the 



L2^(| |,J To the Journal & Eagle Priiiliii!; Esiiilijlsjiiiinii, |lr. 



11 






' y 1^ V I Received Payment, 



3 in and .11U Main «t. P.iin.|iko.|wi,-. 



/)'/// of Journal and Eagle. 



Webster summed uj) for the defense, the court 
room being crowded with people, including many 
ladies. The lawyers are still telling stories as to how 
nuich brandy he consumed the night before, and one 
of the traditions is to the effect that he had to be 
helped to the court room. There is naturally no proof 
in support of these assertions. The Telegraph (un- 
friendly to Webster's party) said on Dec. 3d: "We 
think the argument of Daniel Webster on that occasion 
not only did credit to his great abilities, but was such 
a feast as we are not often treated with. The jury 
after being out but a short time came with a verdict 
for the defendants." 

The campaign of 1840 deserves more than passing 
notice. It included a monster celebration of the Fourth 
of July, often referred to in later years, and described 
as a sort of triple celebration. In the morning the 
military held the usual parade, marshalled by Col. 
Henry Pine, with William I. Street as orator. This 



torchlight paratles, so popular everywhere, were 
not wanting in Poughkeepsie. The log cabin was 
erected on the north side of Main Street below Wash- 
ington, about where Mrs. Foster's soda bottling works 
are located. Robert Fanning, a respectable citizen, 
was raising a flag on it soon after its completion when 
he slipped and fell to the ground and was killed. It 
was the subject of numerous cartoons in Benson J. 
Lossing's Fire of the Flint, a paper started for this 
campaign only, though revived in 1844. With all 
the enthusiasm of the marching and song singing 
Poughkeepsie was carried by the Whigs by but a small 
majority, while the county went Democratic and Rich- 
ard D. Davis was elected member of congress. The 
Whigs did not again win the county until 1844, when 
Poivghkeepsie gave Clay 463 majority. 

At the close of the year 1843 the old Poughkeepsie 
Journal ceased to have have a separate existence. Mr. 
Jackson sold his interest, William Schram entered into 




Hon. SEWARD BARCT'I.O, 
County Judge 1S45, Supreme Court Judi^e /S./y. 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEBPSie. 



133 



partnership with Isaac Piatt, and on January 6, 1844, 
the first number of the Journal and Eagk was issued. 
The double title was retained until 1850 when the 
name "Journal" was dropped. In .\ugust, 1844, the 
publishers installed a new press described as a "Napier 
double cylinder, and calculated to roll out news at 
the rate of fifteen hundred or two thousand an hour 
without puffing at all." During the cami)aign of that 
year Messrs. Piatt & Schram published a paper called 
The Club in opposition to Lossing's Fire of tin- Flint. 
It was advertised at 75 cents per annum or 
"from its commencement until Henry Clay's election 
to the Presidency at fifty cents." 

One of the young men who learned the printer's 
trade in Ponghkeepsie, in the office of the Telegraph. 
not long before this time, was Isaac Van Anden, who 
went from here first to \\'hite Plains, and then to 
Brooklyn, where, in 1841, he established The Brooklyn 
Eagle, named presumably from the Poughkeepsie 
Eagle. He was afterwards joined by Samuel \\'. 
Hester, his brother-in-law. a well-known Poughkeepsie 
builder. 

A story often told by the late Judge E. Q. Eldridge 
illustrates how news was obtained before there was 
either railroad or telegraph. A few days after the 
election in 1840, a big crowd of Democrats, jubilant 
in the knowlege of having carried Dutchess County, 
assembled at the foot of Main Street with a brass band 
to await the arrival of the steamboat from the south 
with the expected news of Van Buren's reelection. 
Presently the watchers on Kaal Rock reported the 
steamer in sight and Van Buren cheers rent the air. 
As the Imat drew nearer the sound of music on board 
Cduld be faintly heard and it was noticed that she was 
decorated with flags. Surely she had the news, but 
what news? The crowd was silenced while all ears 
were strained to try to make out wliat the band on the 
boat was playing. Could it be — yes it was "Tippe- 
canoe and Tyler Too!" There was a stir in the crowd, 
the news spread rapidly, and a lot of people were 
observed making their way back up Main Street hill. 
By the time the steamboat reached the landing there 
was just as large a crowd as before anfl unbounded en- 
thusiasm, but all were \\'higs ! 

The issues growing out of the Panic of 1S37 held 
more or less attention until 1844, by which time 
slavery, the proposed annexation of Texas, and the 
Native .\mcrican or "Know Nothing" movement were 
occupying nnich of the local editorial space. The 
Teni])erance movement was also becoming important. 
In August, 1841, the Journal said: "The Temperance 
cause is progressing rapidly in Poughkeepie. The 
Young Men's Temperance Society meets once and 
sometimes twice a week and adds to its member- 



ship at each meeting from 50 to 60 members." In 
1842 a paper called The Temperance Safeguard 
was started by G. K. Lyman. It was "devoted 
to total abstinence, morals, agriculture, miscellany 
and news," surely an attractive combination, and 
was published for at least five years. The fact 
that among its advertisers was "The New Tem- 
perance Grocery," 358 Main Street, Richard Aldrich, 
reminds us of the time when every grocery store 
thought it necessary to offer a customer a glass of 
rum. The Sons of Temperance were organized before 
1847, probably by Rev. Charles Van Loan. Accord- 
ing to French's Gazetteer there was also a paper in 
Poughkeepsie called The Safeguard, distinct from The 
Temperance Safeguard. The Thoinpsonian, devoted 
to the doctrines of the Thompsonian School of Medi- 
cine, was first ]nti)lished. May 12th, 1838. It was edit- 
ed by Dr. A. H. Piatt and owned by Thomas Lapham. 

The Native American movement w'as strong 
enough in November, 1845, to warrant the establish- 
ment of a newspaper, the Poughkeepsie American, by 
Augustus T. Cowman. In 1848 the paper supported 
General Taylor for president, and in 1849 was sold to 
Isaac Tompkins and became a Democratic organ. 
Elias Pitts purchased it in 1850 and sold it in 1853 to 
Edward B. Osborne, who changed the name to The 
Dutchess Democrat, and made it the organ of the 
"hard shell" branch of the party. 

The anti-Masonic party had in the meantime 
long since spent its force. The organization of the 
Odd Fellows in 1838 shows the decay of the general 
feeling against secret societies, and in 1852 Masonry 
was again started with the founding of Poughkeepsie 
Lodge, the charter members of which were Abram N. 
Sweet, John Broas, Samuel Chichester, George Gaus- 
man, John E. Eisel, Elias G. Hopkins, George Kent, 
Isaac F. Russell, and Andrew Centner. 

The nomination of General Taylor in 1848 was an 
even greater disappointment to the Poughkeepsie 
Whigs than that of Gen. Harrison had been in 1840 
and it was several weeks before the Eagle got scjuarely 
into line in his support but he carried the county by a 
large majority, the vote standing — Taylor 5,377> Cass 
3,227, and Van Buren 1,294. The Free Soilers ap- 
parently had no local organ then, which perhaps ac- 
counts for the small Van Buren vote, but this branch 
of the party nevertheless steadily increased and not 
long after Cass's defeat the Telegraph became its rep- 
resentative. President Taylor appointed the editor of 
the Eagle postmaster to succeed the editor of the Tele- 
graph, a fact which did not deter the Eagle from vig- 
orous denunciation of the fugitive slave law passed in 
Fillmore's administration. 




ISAAC PI.ATT, 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIB. 



135 



There were some arrests of fugitive slaves in 
Poiighkeepsie, which stirred the people considerably, 
notably that of a man named John M. Bolding, who 
had lived here four years and become well established 
as a tailor, but was claimed as the property of Barrett 
Anderson of South Carolina. The Eagle of August 
30, 1851, says in its report: "He was seized therefore 
while suspecting nothing, hurried directly into the 
carriage and that driven rapidly down the street to 
the cars, and placed in them only two or three minutes 
before the whistle blew and they were ofif. He had 
been married sonie six months before, but had no time 
to speak or send a message to his wife after his arrest." 
Subsequent issues of the paper tell of efforts to secure 
the man's release on habeas corpus proceedings with- 
out success, and then of a popular subscription to pur- 
chase his freedom, "although his i\iaster exhibits a 
most mean and vindictive spirit, demanding for him 
$1,500 and $200 for his expenses, far more than he 
can obtain for him anywhere." The money was suc- 
cessfully raised in a few days and Bolding returned 
and lived here until his death in April, 1876. In an 
obituary article published then it is stated that Bol- 
ding had escaped from a Mrs. Dickinson, who after- 
wards happened to come to Poughkeepsie to live, and 
finding him here sold him without his knowledge to 
Anderson of South Carolina for $800, the dramatic 
arrest by a U. S. marshal from New York following. 

TilU P.ANIC .\ND THli iMTKOVIiMKNT P.\RTY. 

It is time now to turn back and study more in de- 
tail the effects of the Panic of 1837 on the affairs 
and prospects of Poughkeepsie. There seems to have 
been a rapid recovery of a certain amount of confi- 
dence after the suspension of the banks, and the panic 
did not at once ruin the promoters known as the Im- 
provement Party, or their enterprises. The schools 
established, as we have seen, became the pride of the 
village, the whaling companies contiiuied, and it was 
evidently the increasing scarcity of whales and some 
losses by shipwreck that caused their final suspension. 
The Tclcgral'li of May 17th, 1837, has the following: 

"Good Voyage. — The whale ship Vermont. Cap- 
tain W. H. Topham, belonging to the Poughkeepsie 
Whaling Company, arrived here on Monday with a 
full cargo, having on board 3000 barrels of oil, of 
which between 400 and 500 are sperm, and about 
28,000 lbs whale bone. The \'ermont has been on the 
coast of New Holland' and New Zealand, and was just 
one year and eleven months from the time of leaving 
the port of New York to making it again." 

Possibly the hard times affected the market for oil 
and whalebone. At any rate Alexander Forbus was 
appointed receiver of this company in September, 
iQld name of Australia. 



1838, but its remaining ships were purchased by the 
Dutchess Company which continued in business until 
after 1844. In the Eagle of November loth, 1838, we 
read that the ship A'. P. Talhuadge was spoken in May 
last, "when she had taken 1050 barrels of sperm, and 
350 of whale oil ; with the accompanying quantity of 
bone, all worth at least $35,000. This sounds very 
well and shows that those speculators who have ex- 
cited the wrath of the correspondent of the New York 
Bi'e)iing Post have not quite ruined the town yet." 
The Democrats, of course, charged the panic all to the 
speculators, and Richard D. Davis, who as we have 
seen was elected to congress in 1840, was defeated as 
a candidate for village trustee in 1838, partly perhaps 
because he was quoted as saying that there were a 
large number of men "in this town who must go down 
because they owe five times as much as they can pay." 
It does not appear, however, that the leading boomers 
did go down until 1841, probably as a result of the 
second period of depression that began in 1840. 

The intense partisanship that grew out of the 
discussions over the panic affected even village elec- 
tions, which up to thi.-^ time seem to have been general- 
ly decided upon purely local issues. The trustees 
of 1837 were all re-elected, however, in 1838, though 
they had scarcely paused in the levying of assess- 
ments for street improvement. Only two weeks 
after the suspension of specie payments an assess- 
ment of 6g cents a foot was recorded against Union 
Street "from the end of the pavement to the east 
side of Clover Street." On June 1st Mansion 
Street was assessed for g'rading, gravelling, curb- 
ing, etc., at $1.12 a foot from Hamilton to Catherine. 
This fell chiefly on the real estate boomers, the lot 
owners being Paraclete Potter, Gideon P. Hewitt 
George P. Oakley, Elan Dunbar, John Coller, Isaac 
Broas, John D. Robinson and St. Paul's Church. 
Clinton Street, from Main to Mansion, and Smith 
Street, from Main "to the lane north of David B. 
Lent's dwelling house," were assessed for improvement 
in October and November. Ne.xt to Mr. Lent, Theo- 
doras Gregory was the largest landholder in this sec- 
tion. Church Street, but recently extended down the 
hill from Market, was assessed to Clover Street Nov. 
i6th at $2.09 a foot for grading, etc. James Hooker, 
James Emott, Philip S. Crooke and Henry Brush ap- 
pear as the largest owners. There were other minor 
assessments on the older streets, and if all the newly 
opened lots were unsalable the burden must have been 
a rather heavy one for some persons. Clinton Street 
from Main south. Cannon Street from Hamilton to the 
Reservoir and Church Street from Hamilton to Clin- 
ton were laid out about this time. 



136 



HISTORY OF P O U G H K E E P S I E. 



Ill tlie countr\- farm lands continued to advance. 
The Journal of Jan. 31st, 1838, tells of several good 
sales, including a 200 acre farm in Amenia "pur- 
chased four years since for $45, sold during the last 
ten davs for $66j/^ the acre," and a farm in the town 
of Washington which hrought $no an acre. "It is 
one of the strange features of the times that while the 
business of the merchant has been greatly embarrass- 
ed, and the operation of the mechanic and manufac- 
turer alnidst wholly suspended, the products of the 
farm, with the single excejJtion of wool, have com- 
manded a very ready market at very high prices." 
The backbone of business was evidently sound and 
with the resumption of specie payments in the spring 
the hopes of the boomers in Poughkeepsie were evi- 
dently revived. 

The Pouglikccpsic Journal of June 13th and June 
20th, contains articles on Poughkeepsie luiproreiuenls 
During the Pressure, which present an outline of the 
leading industries of the village and show conclusively 
that the spirit of enterprise was still alive. "Indeed 
so indomitable is the spirit of improvement among 
us. that even the severe pressure of the past season 
could not wholly restrain its movements." The fur- 
nace of Messrs. McDuffie, Sharp & Proper is men- 
tioned as having cast $40,000 worth of stoves during 
the year. It was located near the whale dock. Henry 
Whinfield & Co. had erected their carpet manufactory 
"of brick and very substantial" at a cost of more than 
$25,000 since the fall of 1837. It had 30 looms. "This 
establishment is adjacent to the silk factory and in the 
same vicinity are also Mr. Pelton's and Mr. Delafield's 
Cari)et factories." Of Charles M. Pelton's factory the 
Journal says : "This establishment has been gotten up 
within the past eighteen months and manufactures 
about 30,000 yards of ingrain Carpeting per annum." 
Delafield's Carpet and Rug Factory made about 15,000 
yards of ingrain carpeting "and about 300 beautiful 
hearth rugs ])er annum." Messrs. Thomas Christy & 
Co. made "paper hangings" in a brick building "very 
s])acious and substantial," erected on Water Street, "by 
William Davis, Esq." This establishment had "sprung 
up in defiance of pressure" and was "manufacturing 
even in these times 3,000 pieces of paper hangings i)er 
week." The Poughkeepsie Screw Manufacturing 
Company "commenced in a small way 5th of July last 
in the very midst of the panic," was now enlarging 
and was making "weekly 800 gross of wood screws 
of assorted sizes" and hoped soon to make 4.000. It 
was described as due to the "exertions nf cuir in- 
genious and cnterprisiivg townsman Gen. Thdinas W . 
Harvey." Williams's Woolen Factory, idle for a year, 
had come into the hands of Mr. Richard Titus and 



was "doing" a large business." Vassar's Brewery, 
"completed eighteen months since." was making "not- 
withstanding the hard times rising 20,000 barrels of 
ale" worth $6 to $6.50 a barrel. A revival of business 
at the brickyards was also noted. "Messrs. R. Tyson 
& Co. set up a new yard last year which with the very 
extensive concerns of Messrs. C. Vassar & Co., of Mr. 
Haley and of Mr. Underbill are all fully employed in 




fs -agiK g'^ fgS:" 



T/ie Brezvery at the River. 
From /.o.ss!ii_i;'s Vassar College and its /■h/i/n/cr. 

the manufacture of those large and beautiful pressed 
bricks which have latterly been so generally used in 
the city for the fronts of their best houses, and which 
are so familiarl\- known by the name of roughkeepsie 
Stretchers." 

Charles \'assar lived in the large house still stand- 
ing on the southwest corner of Main and Cluxer 
Streets until 1837, when he sold to James Clegg, who 
opened a grocery store in the lower floor, which was 
long a prominent down-tdwn place of resort. Mr. 
Vassar built the brick row (if buildings on Market 
Street from the Armory northwanl. and is said to 
have lost liea\-ily by the wnture. Ills brick\ard, 1 
have been l(il<l. was mi the site nf the Xcw \nvk 
Central and Hiulsnii Kiver l\ailrci;ul statinu nii lower 
Main Street. He was a brother of Matlliew X'assar, 
but Thomas \'assar, who lived where the Lumb fac- 
tory building stands, below Water Street, was not a 
near relative. 

Among recent improvements noted in the Journal's 
article was the widening of Main Street, the Iniilding 
of a number of houses, and the enlargement of the 
Dutchess Whaling Comjiany's wharf. The Whaling 
Conip.-iny then had five ships ;it se;i. including the F.lbe 
which had just sailed. 

The roughkeepsie l.ocomotixe Engine Company's 
works were given an extended notice. This was one 



HISTORY or POUGHKBEPSIE. 



137 



of the most daring enterprises of the day. The com- 
pany was incorporated April 6th, 1838, but this 
Journal article says, "The erection of the buildings 
was commenced a year ago last autumn" and had cost 
"rising $90,000. This heavy outlay has been all made 
(luring the past eighteen months of general despon- 
dence The establishment has commenced operations 
on a limited scale, and only waits for a return of 
better times to go into full operation, when it will 
afford steady employment, in the manufacture of Loco- 
motives, Tenders, &c. &c. to more than 200 machin- 
ists." The better times evidently did not come soon 
enough and the company was already bankrupt. .\ few 
weeks later the notice of dissolution, signed bv Henrv 
F. Tallmadge, agent, was published. N. P. Tallmadge, 
Thomas W. Harvey, Walter Cunningham, Henry F. 



late Henry D. Myers stated in an interview (July 30, 
1884) that but one locomotive was built here. It ran 
for a long time on the Long Island Railroad, to 
which it nnist have been shipped by boat. 

The completion of the Locomotive Engine fac- 
tor}- preceded the railroad by rather more than ten 
years, and its failure was doubtless due in part to 
the long delay in the realization of the various rail- 
road plans and in part to the failure of its promoters, 
who had evidently been bolstering each other up and 
dragging in their friends for help during several 
years before their final collapse in 1841. George P. 
Oakley was apparently in trouble by 1839, when he 
offered "Primrose Green" for sale, and the record 
of his assignments shows that a number of promi- 
nent men, including Charles Bartlett, were involved 




II ood Cut ijiiii/r /or Jhiilhi' lt /JcUi't 



I'orc.HKIUU'SIH I.\ 1S4. 1. 
■//is/i/n'ia/ C 'o/lfdioiis of tin- Stale ojWi 



)'or/;," piit>/is/uit ni /S/i. 



Tallmadge, Henry Ibbottson and Paraclete Potter 
were the organizing commissioners of this company, 
the purpose of which was described as "the manu- 
facture of locomotive engines, iron rails, plates and 
other iron apparatus of rail roads and rail-road cars." 
Mr. Lossing in an illustrated article on Poughkeepsie 
in 77(1' Family Magazine (Vol. 6, p. 240) says : "This 
establishment is situated on the Hudson, directl}- mirth 
of the Poughkeepsie Whaling Company. It is much 
the most extensive of the kind in America, being cap- 
able of producing from seventy-five to one hundred 
locomotive engines with their tenders annually. It is 
under the direction of R. M. Bouton. Esq., one of the 
best engineers in the country." The main building 
was some two hundred and fifty feet in length. The 



as lenders or endorsers. It seems rather remark- 
able that the banks were able to hold out. Oakley 
was succeeded as cashier of the Poughkeepsie by E. 
P. Benjamin soon after the panic, and Cunningham 
was succeeded by James H. Fonda, father of Walter 
Cunningham Fonda, as cashier of the Dutchess Coun- 
ty, in 1841. The Farmers' Bank, it is said, did not 
even pass a dividend and there is no evidence that 
the Poughkeepsie Bank was in danger, but the 
Dutchess County Bank was found to be so badly in- 
volved in the enterprises of Cunningham and his 
friends, that at the expiration of its charter, July ist, 
1845, its business was wound up and the Merchants' 
Bank was organized to take its place. This was not 
regarded exactly as a failure, for in the course of 



138 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE 



tinu' the Dutcliess County Hank was able to realize 
on much of its security, paid all note holders and 
depositors and about 30 per cent, to stockholders. 
More than its full capital had been loaned to the 
members of the Improvement Party, and $317,416, 
or more than half its capital, to its own officers and 
stockholders, according to the statement of its con- 
dition on May 10th, 1837. No bank has ever been 
organized in Poughkeepsie since with so large a 
capital. 

The Merchants' Bank started July 2d, 1845, with 
capital of $110,000, and with Matthew J. Myers presi- 
dent and Jaines H. Fonda cashier. The first direct- 
ors were Matthew J. Myers, Alexander Forbus, Isaac 
Merritt, Abraham G. Storm, Caleb Barker, John Ad- 
riance, Thomas M. Vail, John T. Schryver, Alex- 
ander J. Coffin, James Emott. Jr., Solomon V. Frost, 
George Pomeroy and David Arnold. The effects of 
the panic were long felt, but by 1852 the growth of 
business warranted the organization of a fifth bank, 
the Fallkill. William C. Sterling, Augustus Jillson, 
Henry Coffin , John Thompson, Casper D. Smith. 
Samuel T. Taber, Thomas R. Payne, Eleazer D. 
Sweet, Elias Titus, Henry D. Myers, Joseph C. 
Doughty, William W. Reynolds and John Bloom were 
the first directors. Mr. Sterling was chosen presi- 
<lent, John F. Hull cashier and Zebulon Rudd book- 
keeper. This bank has had but two cashiers. Mr. Hull 
served until i8(;2, when he was succeeded by William 
Schickle. 

It is not iin])r(il)al)le that Imuse building continued 
almost as rapidly after the ]);inic as before. Land 
is often too valuable to build upon during a boom. It 
was nevertheless a long time before there were more 
than one or two houses on the new lots sold at auction 
at such handsome advances, atid many of them came 
back to the original owners by foreclosure or other- 
wise. George Corlies built the first house on South 
Liberty Street, now Garfield Place, in 1832, — the house 
now owned by Mrs. C. P. Luckey. At that time the 
land to the westward was all farming land, with very 
few trees, and Mr. Jacob Corlies tells me th.it the 
river could be seen for a stretch of several miles. He 
remembers standing at tlie rear of the house and count- 
ing as many as seventy sloops and schooners on the 
river. r)n .\cadcmy Street south nf Mniitgomery. 
Caleb r.arkcr's house, now Professor J. I,. Moore's, 
was about the (juIv house hniil by that time. There 
were only about three houses on S<iuth Hamilton 
Street, between Church and Montgomery, in 1850, 
when Isaac Piatt built his brick house, and most of 
the land thereabout was owned by Alexander Forbus. 
On the southwest corner of Montgomery and I laniil- 



ton Streets there was a swamp often llooded in winter 
enough for skating. 

The Telegraph of January 6th. 1841, says that 
thirty buildings had been erected during the year 
before, and ptiblishes an enumeration of the buildings 
on every street in the village (see Appendix). It was 
])robably not long after this that the first village 
directory was published^ There were seventy-nine 
streets, on wdiich there were 1,055 dwelling houses 
exclusive of other buildings. The population was 
given as 7,710. By 1841 there was a revival in street 
improvement, and on April 12th of that year an ordi- 
nance was passed for numbering the houses and lots. 
L. M. Arnold, W. A. Royce, E. F. Grant, D. W. 
Beadle, E. M. Haynes, W. C. Southwick and L. Car- 
penter were appointed to do the numbering of Main 
Market, Washington, Garden. Academy and Liberty 
Streets. The north and south divisions of Clinton. 
Hamilton. Bridge, Clover and Water Streets had not 
been adopted at this time. For instance : "The num- 
bering of Clinton Street shall commence at the Reser- 
voir of said village and run thence northwardly to the 
northern extremity of said street." 

A number of the leading boomers of the previous 
period, finding their fortunes gone, left Poughkeep- 
sie for the West, most of them for Wisconsin. Para- 
clete Potter was appointed Registrar of the United 
States Land Office at Milwaukee in April, 1841, Wil- 
liam Wilson succeeding him in the Poughkeepsie book 
business. Gideon P. Hewitt, Henry Conklin and Na- 
thaniel P. Tallmadge were among those who followed 
him. Tallmadge resigning from the United States Sen- 
ate to become governor of the Territory of Wisconsin 
in 1844. They settled at Green Bay. Tallmadge 
became a Spiritualist probably before he left Pough- 
keepsie, for there was at that time a coterie of 
Spiritualists here, among whom a tailor, Andrew 
Jackson Davis, called "The Seer of Poughkeepsie," 
became a leader. As was natural in a leading educa- 
tional center, Poughkeepsie was the home of many 
seekers for light of various kinds. Sl)iritualism is 
said to h;ive obtained its first important foothold here. 
and a number of prominent men besides Senator Tall- 
madge embraced its doctrines and listened to its mys- 
terious messages. Even Richard D. Davis, said to 
have been one of the most brilliant public men in the 
State, was a Spiritualist for a time. Davis was a 
strong opponent of Tallmadge politically, after the lat- 
ter had become a Whig, and when T.illmadge joined 
the Spiritualists that was too much for him, and he 
left the fold. He was no relation, I believe, to Andrew 

'A nearly complete collection of directories, beginning with 
tlial ])ul)lished by C. P. Lnyster in 1843. has been presented 
to the Adriance Library by Mr. Henry Booth. 



HISTORY OP r O U G H K E E P S I E . 



13!t 



Jackson Davis, "the Seer," wh.) puhlisheil several 
books, which attraete-il some attention. James Russell 
Lowell, in his "h'able for Critics," making fun of the 
cult, tells of a man whose aloe tree would not bloom 
unless he watered it "with the blood of \\\i unmarried 
daughter." Long the poor fellow struggled with his 
conscience. Lowell continues: 

'4 told Philothea his struggles ami doubts. 
And how he considered the ins and the ouls 
Of the visions he had and the dreadful dyspepsy, 
How he went to the seer that lives in Po'keepsie 
How the seer advised him to sleep on it first, 
And to read his big volume in case of the worst, 
And further advised he should pay him five dollars 
For writing hum, hum, on his wristbands and collars; 
Three years and ten days these dark words he had 

studied 
W'lu'ii his daughter was missed and his aloe had budded." 

Just which of Davis's numerous volumes had such 
a dire influence, and attracted the attention of Lowell, 
I am not sure. He published among other things four 
or five volumes entitled "The Great Harmonium,'' but 
nearly all his books were copyrighted later than 1848, 
the date of Lowell's "Fable for Critics." Another local 
Spiritualistic author was Levi M. Arnold, who in 
1852 published a volume entitled "The History of the 
Origin of All Things and Particularly of the Earth." 
.Among the celebrities of the period may also be men- 
tioned William II. \'an Wagner, Jr., who travelled 
around the country with a big tent giving temperance 
and other lectures, calling himself "The Poughkeepsic 
Blacksmith." 

BuiLDixc. OF The Hudson River R.meroad. 

The failure of the Poughkeepsic Locomotive En- 
gine Company, which built a large factory here long 
before there was any railroad, has already been men- 
tioned. What railroad did the promoters of the loco- 
motive factory expect their engines to run upon ? Cer- 
tainly not upon a railroad belween New York and 
.\lbany along the river. Such a road had indeed been 
talked of, but was rather a joke than a serious propo- 
sition until after 1840. The New Year's address of 
the Dutchess Intelligencer for 1832 contains the fol- 
lowing doggerel : 

Railroads are all the rage of latter years — 
They talk of one to go from here to York, 

To quell the city people's an.xious fears. 
And carry down the Dutchess County pork — 

The cars are wondrous things to load our trash on 

And tho' our boatmen starve we'll be in fashion. 

That was the year the river closed early and froze 
in several barges loaded with pork.* No one seriously 

'See "Memories of Poughkeepsie, 1825-1832." — Daily 
Eagle, .\pril 21, 1904. 



pnip<ised such a road, InU on IVIarch 28th of the same 
year "The Dutchess County Rail Road" was incor- 
porated for the purpose of building to the Connecticut 
line. Property and persons were to be transported "by 
the power and force of steam, of animals, or any 
mechanical power or any combination of them." Wil- 
liam Davis (Davies?) Harry Conklin, Paraclete Pot- 
ter, Homer Wheaton and Morgan Carpenter, were ap- 
pointed commissioners to receive subscriptions, and it 
was stipulated that the road should be finished within 
five years. Apparently little money was raised during 
the first year under this charter, perhaps because many 
people favored a canal across the county. The next 
year the following petition was presented: 

TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE VIEEAGE OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 

The undersigned deeply impressed with the impor- 
tance of a communication by means of a railroad or 
Canal, from the Village of Poughkeepsie to I^ine 
Plains, from thence through a part of Columbia Coun- 
ty to the line of Massachusets, do request the Trustees 
will take immediate measures to have said route ex- 
amined by a competent and experienced Engineer. 
As this is a subject of such vital importance to the 
prosperity of this Village the undersigned do not 
entertain a doubt but that the expenditure of any rea- 
sonable amount, by the Trustees to accomplish the 
above object, will be sanctioned and approved of by 
the citizens at large. 

Pokeepsie, Sept. 2d 1833 

Peter P Hayes 

M Vassar 

N. P. Tallmadge 

P. EVERITT 
P.PoTTER 

J Van Benthuysen Hiram Veltman 

W Cunningham Charees Warner 

.V G Storm 

Geo Van Kleeck 

Eeias Trivett 

At their meeting on Sept. 5th of that year the vil- 
lage trustees appointed Henry Conklin and Hon. N. 
P. Tallmadge a committee with power to employ an 
engineer. It was probably under this authority that 
Henry Whinfield and William Dewey made their first 
survey, though perhaps some sort of a ])relinn'nary 
examination had been made before this. The Eagle 
and other papers continued to agitate the matter from 
time to time, and in 1836 the charter was renewed 
under the same title, but with greater latitude in the 
location of the line. The first idea was to build the 
railroad to Amenia, and had this been done before 
the LTudson River and Harlem lines were built, 
the histor\- of Dutchess County and Poughkeepsic 
would have been considerably changed. It was, how- 
ever, a very difficult proposition to lay out a railroad 
across Dutchess County, that should q-o through the 



iJrO 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEBPSIE. 



principal towns and reach any i)i>int of ini]wrtance on 
the Connecticut hne. All the hills run north and 
south across the county and the Poughkeepsic boom- 
ers seem to have been more willing to get other peo- 
ple to put in money than to invest their own. The 
project was put to sleep by the panic, though un- 
doubtedly the promoters of the Locomotive Engine 
Company expected it to be revived in time to make 
use of the products of their factory. Its long post- 
ponement, as will appear, was due to the fact that as 
soon as efforts were made to enlist the aid of the 
farmers and the people of Pine Plains and other in- 
terior towns, the rival plan of a terminus at Fishkill 
was encountered. 

The Hudson River Railroad was merely a dream 
until 1841, and was seriously discussed only when 
the Harlem road, then called the "New York and 
.\lbany,"' had actually begun preparations to extend its 
line through Eastern Dutchess to Albany. Matthew 
Vassar and a few others then began to fear that the 
county trade would be diverted from Poughkeepsie 
to the eastern towns. They employed Richard D. 
.Morgan, an engineer, to make a cursory survey to 
see if it was possible to build a line along the promon- 
tories through the Highlands and he reported favor- 
ably. That there could ever have been controversies 
and serious difficulties over obtaining a charter and 
necessary capital for "America's Greatest Railroad" 
seems almost incredible now, but such was the case. 
After his cursory survey in the Highlands Mr. Mor- 
gan addressed a meeting at the Poughkeepsie Hotel, 
Feb. 25th, 1842, at which we are told only a very few 
people would listen to his arguments at all. Some 
thought a railroad along the river preposterous — that 
it could never compete with the boats — while some of 
the boatmen on the othrr hand thought it might 
ruin their business. 'J'he Ulv^Ic and the Tclci^raph 
kept the project before the people, and, according to 
the former, "a small body comprising about a baker's 
dozen, resolved to go ahead for the work, and they 
made an application to the legislature for a charter." 
Their i)etitions were treated at Albany "with so much 
conleni])! that those who undertook to call attention 
to tluni in the legislature were hardly treated with 
decent courtesy." In March, 1842, a convention of 
delegates from river towns assembled at the village 
hall at Poughkeepsie, but only a dozen or so repre- 
sented other places and there were not more than thirty 
persons in the liall. This meeting, nevertheless, ap- 
pointed a "Hudson River Rail Road Central Executive 
»"Tlie New York and Albany Rail Road Company have 
advertised for proposals for tlie grading, masonry and l)ri(lges 
on ninety miles of the road in Diiteliess, Putnam and West- 
chester counties."— Jan. 6, 1841, Poughkeepsie Journal. 



Finance and Correspondence Committee," made up of 
the men who had already been active in the matter : 
M. Vassar, Thomas L,. Davies, Isaac Piatt and E. B. 
Killey. The Telegraph gives the chief credit for the 
completion of the enterprise to this committee. Sub- 
scription books were opened and $1,450 were raised for 
the preliminary expenses of obtaining a complete sur- 
vey, and a charter. The survey was made by Rich- 
ard D. Morgan, but at a second attempt before the 
Legislature for a charter "A respectful hearing could 
not be obtained." "Not a village on the river aided 
us in the expense," says the Eagle, "and had exertions 
stopped here all would have been lost." 

The applicants for a charter were charged with 
wishing merely to head off the Harlem road, and in 
1843 there was a bitter controversy between Alder- 
man Moses G. Leonard, of New York, and Matthew 
\'assar, the former charging the latter with having 
said "that they had no intention to construct a Rail- 
road along the River, but they had merely resorted 
to this movement in order to protect their property 
along the river." The Journal seems to imply, in the 
following, from an article in its issue of March 22d, 
that there was possibly some truth in the assertion : 
".\lr. X'assar had no authority to speak on that point 
fi>r an)- but himself, and if he did say (which he de- 
nies) what is attributed to him. it furnishes no proof 
either of the infeasibility of the river route or of the 
opinions of the hundreds who have petitioned for a 
charter. We know that the ctimmittee of which Mr. 
\ assar is chairman entertain no such views." 

\ ery few people in New York city could be got to 
listen to the scheme of the Poughkeepsie committee, 
and the city newspapers either condemned it or con- 
sidered it of small importance until 1845, when John 
Childe, an eminent engineer' of Springfield, Mass., 
published a letter expressing faith in its practicability. 
Then going to w-ork once more with a will, the com- 
mittee succeeded in enlisting a number of New York 
men of wealth and standing, and finally overcame 
objections and obtained the charter. May 12th, 1846. 
The enemies of the road, however, succeeded in the 
incorporation of a requirement that $3,000,000 must 
be subscribed before March 1st, 1847, with 10 per 
cent, paid in. This necessitated strenuous exertions 
and while they were in jjrogress, Oct. 19th. 1846. the 
first telegraph oflice was opened in Poughkeep.sie In' 
"The New York, Albany and Buffalo Telegraph Coni- 
])any." Professor Samuel F. B. Morse, the inventor 
of the telegraph, lived just outside of the limits of the 

'Isaac Piatt had himself helped to keep the project alive 
In- writing a series of articles, pnhlished in the New York 
Times and signed "Civil Engineer." 



HISTORY OF POUGHKERPSIB 



141 



village, and there was imicli interest in his method of 
sending conninications "as quick as lightning." It 
was none too quick for the people during the last 
week or two of February, 1847, ^"fl when the dots 
and dashes of the tape roll in the office in Garden 
Street conveyed the news that the $3,000,000 neces- 
sary to "save the charter" of the Hudson River 
Railroad had been subscribed' there was great re- 
joicing. The Eoi^lc of February 27th, which printed 
the annonnccnicnt. with a histf)rical sketch of the prog- 
ress and difficulties nf the uriginal pnnnoters, says 
that the excitement in Poughkecpsie was so great that 
even the approaching municipal election was almost 
forgotten. 

Bonfires were ligiited and salutes were fired and 
there was a general celebration with a "splendid sup- 
per at the first depot, the Poughkepsie Hotel * * * 
prepared by the host, Mr. Rutzer, in the best style 
of the times. * * * Tlie first business being com- 
pleted, M. Vassar, Esq. ,2 acting as chief conductor, 
aided by Jacob B. Jewett, Stephen 1!. Trowbridge and 
John .\(lriance. assistant conductors, Isaac Piatt and 
F. 1'.. Kille}' as brakemen, started the train upon a new 
track." This was, of course, the speech-making, which 
inclu<lcd also D. B. Lent and General Maison. One 
of the chief toasts was to Richard D. Morgan, "to 
whose pioneer efiforts the public are indebted for their 
knowledge of the practicability of the route." We 
are told that as this was a temperance banquet, there 
was no danger of an explosion or of any one getting 
off the track. In relation to the prospects for business 
fur the railronil the Eagle of Feb. 27th, says: 

"We are not among those who calculate that the 
building of the road will take all travel from the river, 
but that its completion will have the effect to double 
the present amount of travel there cannot be a reason- 
able doubt. Of this the road will get its share, ex- 
tending to at least half of the through travel during 
the most favorable seasons of navigation, and when 
obliged to compete with the best boats, while at the 
same time, of the way travel it will command by far 
the largest proportion, so that heavier passenger 
trains than have ever yet been seen in this country 
will run in mid^summer, even if the boats are full at 
the same time. But for four months, when the navi- 
gation at .\lbany is closed, and while railroad commu- 
nicatiiins extend north to Canada and west to Wis- 
ciinsin. not only hundreds, but thousands will fill the 
cars daih'. and freight lines will run constantly." 

Says the Tclcgrat'li of Wednesday, Jan. Qlh. 1S50: 
"This great public improvement, second only to the 

ipor list of subscribers up to Jan. 23, 1847, see Appendix. 

'-Mr. Vassar was evidently given much of the credit of 
having started tlie enterprise, tliough he was in Europe when 
tlie charter was obtained. 



Xew York and Erie Canal, is now completed to the 
station house in this village. The first train' of cars 
reached it f)n Friday evening last, and was greeted 
with enthusiastic cheers as it passed under the fine 
bridge arched over Main street near the depot." The 
first time table published in the Poughkeepsie papers 
was as follows : 

llmSON RivEK R.Ml.Kii.Mi. 

Winter .M;iil .-irrangenients — On and ai'ler Mon- 
day next ; the passenger trains will run as follows, 
daily (Sundays excepted). 

Leave New York for Poughkeepsie and intermedi- 
ate places : At 8 A. M. carrying the way mails ; at 
4 P. M. do tliroiigh mails. 

Leave Poughkeepsie for New York and intermedi- 
ate places: ,\t 6 A. M. carrying the way mails; at 
II ^j A. M. do through do. 

The 4 P. M. train going North, and the Iij4 
A. M. train going South will not stop at Hastings, 
Garrison's Dock, or Low Point. 

A line of Stages will he found in readiness at 
Poughkeepsie to leave for Albany and intermediate 
pl.aces on the arrival of the trains from New York. 
Where offices of the Company are established, pas- 
sengers will procure Tickets before entering the cars. 
W. C. Young, Chief Engineer. 

New York, Dec. 27, 1840. 

The da}'s of the stage coach on the post road were 
not yet over, but they were numbered. The northern 
section of the railroad was built from .\lbany down, 
and was opened in October, 1851. The directors 
elected in June, 184c). wIid finished the southern sec- 
tion of the road, were James Boorman, Gouverneur 
Kcnil)le, Gardner R. Howland, Thomas Suffern, 
James Flooker, John B. Jervis, Elisha Peck, Japthet 
Bishop, Edward Jones, John David Wolfe, Moses H. 
Grinnell, Edwin D. Morgan, and Erastus Corning. 
Mr. Boorman, who had a suninicr home north of 
Poughkeepsie, was the |irrsi(lont — and it was to his 
subscription in 1847 that the building of the road 
was chiefly due — Mr. Jones, vice-president. Mr. Jer- 
vis, chief engineer, John M. Hopkins, treasurer and 
George H. Butler, legal agent. 

The rock taken from the heavy cuttings in Pnugh- 
kce])sic was ])artl\ used in filling along the water 
front and it was at this time that the territory where 
Arnold's lumber yard is located, south of the Fall 
Kill, was mostly create<l. 

The Hudson River Railroad was built long after 
railroads had cea.sed to be an experiment, was well 
equipped and was successful from the start. The 

iTrains had been running lid'ore this for several weeks as 
far as Pine St, where tlic old Hunt house was used as a 
station. 



142 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEBPSIB 



running time of passenger trains was surprisingly 
near that of the present locals. The Bagle of Jan. 
i2t]i, 1850. contains a description of a trip to New 
York over the road, which includes the following: 

"Since the first train reached us there has been all 
but an avalanche of business, both in the line of pas- 
sengers and freight, the receipts of the Company be- 
ing near twelve hundred dollars per day. The cars 
run through between this place and 31st street, New 
York, regularly within two hours and a half, the run- 
lu'ng time not exceeding in any case two hours, and 
from Chambers street within three hours. This is 
quicker time than is made on any other railroad in 
the L^nited States and comes fully up to the original 
calculations of the engineers. When the track is 
thoroughly settled, every trip to and from the city, 
will doul)tlcss be made within two hours." 

\u fact there were some runs of two hours within 
the year 1850. Four trains each way, besides a Peeks- 
kill train, were put on March nth, and on May 17th 
a freight train to leave Poughkeepsie at 7 .\. m. and 
tile "Canal street freight depot" in New York at 12 




Cul of I a 



'/'rain and S/t-aiiihoal. 



noon was announced, with the statement that "No 
freight will be carried on the Passenger Trains after 
Tuesday. June 4tli. except under special arrange- 
ments." The summer time table dated May 21st. 
announces that trains will connect at Poughkeepsie 
"with the fast sailing steamers New World, Alida. 
Joseph Belknap, and South America." Passengers 
could then leave New York at 7 a. .m. and arrive at 
Albau\- at 3 i>. M. The connection was made at a 
dock, to which a ccjvered ])assageway led, where the 
Poughkeepsie Yacht Club House stands. This prop- 
erty is still owned by the railroad company. 

The first annual statement of the road covering 
nine months of operation up to Sept. 30th. showed 
passenger earnings of $242,573.10 and freight earn- 
ings of $18,575.76. There was a balance above o])er- 
ating expenses of $110,974.83. The ro;id bad tlkii 
been doulile-trackcd to Peekskill. At this time the 
right of way had not all been obtained above Pough- 
keejxsie and John Thonipson, who was employed in 
oI)taining it. was having cdusiderabli' trduble with 
the owners of large estates along the river. 



The continued prosperity of the railroad was a 
source of much satisfaction and the local papers con- 
tain many items about it. On January 7th, 1854, in 
connection with the announcement of the purchase 
of six locomotives and a number of passenger cars 
is the following: "The road now uses thirty-six 
thousand cords of wood a year, which costs with the 
sawing, $5.50 per cord. One locomotive is in use 
burning coal." In 1853, when the Harlem Railroad 
was straining every nerve to get business away from 
the Hudson River Railroad, and had reduced the fare 
from Albany to New York to $1.00. the latter com- 
pany was advised not to meet the ruinous reduction. 
It was then, however, carrying passengers at a rate 
of one cent a mile. During that year the double track 
was completed to Poughkeepsie. A year earlier, Feb- 
ruary 1st, 1852, the necessity of a break in the journey 
from New York to Albany for luncheon had been 
recognized, and William S. Johnston had come here 
from New York to establish the first railroad res- 
taurant on the line and one of the first in the country. 
Mr. Johnston and his brothers, Theodore and Floy M. 
Johnston, eventually acquired control of nearly all 
the restaurants on the New York Central system, a 
control which lasted until the company took posses- 
sion of them in 1900. Though living in New York 
at the time the railroad was built the Johnstons were a 
Poughkeepsie family, their father, W'illiam Sherman 
Johnston, having been born here. 

Poughkeepsie continued to be a division point on 
the railroad, where all trains changed locomotives until 
the spring of 1876, when the first order was issued to 
run through to Albany. .Ml trains continued to stoj- 
here ten minutes until some ten years later. 

The almost immediate success of the railroad could 
ncit fail to affect the river trade, but the cutting off of 
the business of Eastern Dutchess by the Harlem rail- 
road did fidly as much damage as the completion of 
the Hudson River Railroad. The Baggie said of the 
boats in May, 1853: "If we can judge at all by a])- 
])earance, they are doing nineh more business than 
usual, notwithstanding the amount done on the rail- 
road." Ruinous competition ])robably had nnieli to 
do with this a])pearance of business, for in 1852 the 
boats were carrying ])asscngers to New ^'ork from 
Poughkee]')sie for one shilling. The Reindeer. .Ar- 
menia. .\lida and Henry Clay, then formed the day 
line. "Faster boats never floated." sa\s the Press of 
May 13th. 

There was in 1841. and for some years afterwards. 
a local da\- lint- to New York, the steamer Osceola 



HISTORY OF POUGHKBEPSIE. 



U-6 



leaving Main Street landing every morning at 7 
o'clock, and leaving New York every afternoon at 
4. Probably the prospect of railroad competition 
caused its abandonment; at any rate while the rail- 
road was bnilding, the old Union Landing, which had 
been running the steamboat Gazelle twice a week to 
New York, and had been one of the most important of 
the four village landings, went out of business and its 
property passed into the hands of William Bushnell, 
who had been interested in the Dutchess Iron Works 
on Main Street. He built a charcoal blast furnace 
there about 1848. The same year Joseph Tuckerman 
appears to have become a partner in the business, and 
on Nov. 14th Tuckerman & P.ushnell' conveyed the 




Lozccr Funuiic. Plwtoi^raphcd about /SSo. hy C. S. /.urns. 

property to The Poughkeepsie Iron Company. This 
was the beginning of the pig iron industry in Pough- 
keepsie. The ores smelted were hauled liy mule 
teams from the Sylvan Lake neighborhood, and fluxed 
with Iiarnegat lime stone. The (ire teams were long 
a familiar street featm-e, and without the snorting of 
the bliiwing engine at the "Lower Furnace" residents 
of the southern section of Poughkeepsie scarcely knew 
how to go to sleep at night. By 1853 Edward Bech 

iLiber 88 Deeds, p. 89. In this ,Iee<l, a street called West 
Street, probably the same as Front Street, is mentioned. T 
believe that the large honse about half way down the hill 
Ik'Iow Water Street dates back to the early days of the land- 
ini;. 'I'lie brick liouse, with Grecian pillars, on the corner of 
\V.\tcr anil Union Streets was built by Uriali C.rcgory. about 



had become interested and on April 2d we read that 
Tuckerman & Bech are building a second furnace or 
stack "capable of producing 20 tons of iron per day, 
or 4 more than the present one." Albert E. Tower 
was the superintendent. 

Ship-building was an important inilustry at this 
time, as an outgrowth partly of the freighting and 
partly of the whaling business. Barges, steamboats, 
sloops and schooners were built here by Henry Einch, 
who bought the whale dock ship-yard of Tooker and 
Hait in 1846. ImucIi built the schooner M. Vassar in 
that year and she was chartered by the governmeiit 
and sent to Vera Cruz with stores for the army in the 
Mexican War. Returning to Poughkeepsie after the 
war the M. Vassar sailed around the Horn to Cali- 
fornia with .\brahain Spencer and a party of gold 
hunters about 1850, and was sold in California. Finch 
is said to have built more than sixty sailing vessels 
before he left here, but possibly some of these should 
be credited to George W. Polk, who came here about 
1850 to work for him and succeeded him in business. 
An item in the Eagle of April 2d, 1853, stating that 
the Whale Dock and Finch's Ship Yard had been sold 
to Stillman & Co. for a brick yard, is incorrect. Finch 
continued for several years after that. The brick yard 
was established on a part of the Whale Dock projjerty 
and was not successful. 

An improvement in inlaiul transportation facilities 
for this period was the plank road. It was a short- 
lived improvement on account of the great expense of 
repairs when the planks began to wear out, but for a 
few \ears the plank roads were splendid highways. 
The records of their incorporation show that they 
were mostly started from 1847 to 1854. The Pough- 
keepsie and Pine Plains Plank Road Company was in- 
corporated in 1850, and in the satne year the local 
newspapers were urging a plank road to Ellenville as 
a "mighty improvement to throw open to Poughkeep- 
sie the trade of a vast and rich section." In 1853 the 
books were opened "for subscription to the capital 
stock of the Poughkeepsie and Salt Point Plank 
Road." Only a few of these many projects were car- 
ried out. and the nnlx plank road constructed in this 
immediate neighlxHlinod was that leading to New 
Hackensack and Stonnvillc. This road was for a 
time successful and pai<l dividends, perhaps because 
of its continuous use by tiie teams bringing iron ore 
to the furnace at tiie Inot of Union Street. The 
planks extended into U'wu as far as Hamilton Street. 
.\ part of the New i'allz turnpike, from the ferry 
landing up to Ili^hlancj. was mice planked. 



144 



HISTORY O F P O U G H K E E P S I E . 



Schools — Tuii First Free Schools. 

The schools enumerated in the Telegraph's article 
of Jan. 6th, 1841, were the "Dutchess County Acad- 
cni\-, Lancaster School, Poughkeepsie High School 
and 18 other schools." The High School was a pri- 
vate institution conducted by James Hyatt and some- 
times advertised as a teachers' institute. That the 
schools were prosperous is shown by many references 
to them in the papers. The Journal of Sept. 29th, 
1841, says: 

"Through the boarding schools alone, not less than 
$70,000 per year, brought from abroad, is distributed 
among the citizens of Poughkeepsie. * * * Nearly 
(ine-half the amount we have named is annually dis- 
tributed among us by the Collegiate School. * * * 
The female boarding schools, and the academies in 
]5roportion, contribute their share towards sustaining 
the business of our village and "tis to them more than 
to anything else, we may attribute the fact that Pough- 
keepsie has suffered less than other places from the 
revulsion consequent upon the over-trading and specu" 
lation of '36 and '37." 

Poughkeepsie Schools were in fact almost at their 
height and attracting pupils from all parts of the 
country. There were, however, no free schools, sup- 
ported entirely by taxation, though it is not quite 
true to say there were no public schools. As the term 
was then used the Academies and the Lancaster 
School were public schools. They received a share of 
the State munex ' and were under the supervision of 
the regents. The tuition in the Dutchess County 
-Academy was as low as $4 a quarter for ordinary Eng- 
lish branches, and the instruction was good. In this 
and in other like schools a few pupils were received 
free of charge, though they generally rendered some 
service in return. Since 1795, and perhaps earlier, 
there had been what were called "common schools." 
furnishing free tuition to those who could not afford 
to pay, and supported apparently partly by private 
subscription and partly by ta.xation. Meetings were 
held from time to time to devise means for improving 
them, and it appears from the reports that they were 
very indifferently conducted. The Lancaster school 
.\vstem also provided for the free instruction of a con- 
siderable number of younger children, and it was 
im)poscd at one time to so extend it as to include all 
who could be inductd tn allend : but the svstem was 
un.satisfactory, and was Insing gnnmd elsewhere. 
while the free public .schools supported bv taxation 
were everywhere gaining. 

'For first apportionment sec p. 69. T am not quite sure 
that the Lancaster school received State money. 



In March. 1841, an educational meeting, of which 
David Arnold was chairman and Thomas S. Rannev 
secretary, received the report of a committee which 
had been investigating the general condition of the vil- 
lage in the matter of school attendance. A census had 
been made of the children between the ages of 5 and 
16 years in the sections west of Washington and 
Market Streets, and the rest were estimated. Of the 
1,641 children in the village the committee stated that 
about 382 attended no school, though some of these 
had attended for a few terms. There were 300 chil- 
dren in the section north of Main and west of Wash- 
ington Street, "of whom 36 attend the Lancaster 
School, 51 other schools taught by male teachers, 113 
attend schools taught by female teachers, and no 
are not attending school at present." This meeting 
reported in favor of an extension and improvement 
of the Lancaster system. Tlu' Jminuil was opposed 
to a free school system, of which it said the Eagle 
and the Telegraph were "the especial advocates." 
Abraham Bockee, who was a member of the State 
Senate from 1842 to 1845, introduced and advocated 
early in 1843 ^ special act creating a village board of 
education of twelve members, with authority to bor- 
row $12,000 for the erection of buildings, and to raise 
by taxation about $7,000 a year. Of this the Journal 
said : 

"Seven thousand a year besides the interest on the 
loan made for the erection of school houses and the 
installments of principal when they become due, will 
make a handsome addition to the burdens of the vil- 
lage, which is already encumbered with a debt of 
$35,000 and an annual tax of $7,000 more, besides her 
share of the town and county expenses and of the 
state tax of $600,000." 

The act was nevertheless i)assed .Vpril iStli and was 
a]>proved at a special village election. May 17th. by a 
majority of 168 in a total poll of 976 voters. It di- 
rected an annual election on the first Tuesday of June 
each year for members of the board of education, who 
were at once "to build and furnish one good and sub- 
stantial school house, containing two rooms of suf- 
ficient ca]>acity to accommodate not less than one hun- 
dred and twenty-five pupils each, and (o wnx five other 
rooms for ]irimary schools." The Jutinui! did not yet 
cease its opposition, charged that the law was pro- 
posecl for political purposes "for furthering the ]iros- 
pects of Killey & Co." and on June "Ih said: "That 
which costs notliing is lightl\' iirized, and the free 
schfiols it filled at all. will be with those indifferent 
to what tliev le;irn. !>>• children of parents who not 
having thi' slinnilns common to all of 'getting their 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 



145 



money's worth,' will send irregularly, as convenience 
or inclination may indicate." This prediction was to 
some extent fulfilled down to recent times and the 
passage of the compulsory law. .\t the election for 
the first board of education David L. Starr, Ira Arm- 
strong, Thomas Austin, Benjamin Gile, Isaac Piatt, 
Egbert B. Killey, George C. Marshall, Barnet Haw- 
kins, James Reynolds, Jr.. William P. Gibbons. Chris- 
topher Appleton and Matthew J. Myers were chosen* 
with a vote ranging from 330 to 424. The oppo- 
nents of the school law put an opposition ticket in the 
field and attempted a stratagem, withholding their 
votes until the afternoon, when they cast al)out 324 
for each of the following: Charles Crookc. Caleb 
Barker, Nathan H. Jewett. James W. liogardus. 
Nehemiah Sweet, Joseph H. Jackson. Caleb Morgan. 
Charles Carman. Seward Barculo, Gilbert I. Vincent, 
William H. Tallmadge and Geo. W. Farrington. 

The board organized June 20th, choosing William 
P. Gibbons president and Thomas Austin clerk. In July 
the lot on the corner of Alill and Bridge Streets was 
purchased and on Jan. 2Qth "the first grammar school 
for bovs under the free school act" was opened in 
the building, still in use (School No. i). with no 
"qualified scholars" in attendance, under the su- 
perintendence of Josiah I. Underbill. Rooms were 
rented for primary schools in August in "the Iniild- 
ing formerly occupied as a theatre, situated in i\Iar- 
ket near Jay Street." and "in the building situated 
on the corner of Clinton and Thompson Streets (the 
old .\cademy)," at $80 per annum in each case. The 
Clinton Street school was No. i, the Market Street 
school No. 2 and in December No. 3 was olden- 
ed in "a room in a coach factory at the junc- 
tion of Mill and Dutchess Avenue.'"- Such were 
the beginnings of our free public schools, which it 
nnist be confessed, have initil recently remained 
rather backward. The private schools and academies 
ba<l the prestige, and the free schools were at first 
expected to take care only of those children whose 
parents were not able to pay tuition, and did not af- 
ford much real competition for a good man}- years. 



iln 1879 and 1894 tlie board published bistorical sketches 
of the piibhc schools and the city library with lists of mem- 
bers of the board, of the graduates of the high school, school 
eur. .llnuMit .■ind attendance. The first board of cdncatinii 
does not contain the name of Matthew J. Myers. He de- 
clined to serve and Henry Angevine was appointed in his 
place. Thomas Austin and David L. Starr resigned in De- 
cember, 184.3, and Alexander J. Coffin and Nathan Clifford 
were appointed in their places. 

21879 Report of Board of Education. 



At the close of the Civil War the appro])riation for 
schools was only about $7,000. 

New private schools were in fact started almost 
every year. "The Ponghkeepsie Female Collegiate 
Institute" for instance, was founded in 1848 by Dr. 
Charles H. P. McClellan, and is still flourishing un- 
der the natne of "Lyndon Hall." It was organized 
with a board of trustees, which in 184Q was as fol- 
lows: Samuel W. Johnston, Howland i\. Slu-rman, 
David H. Barnes, Tunis Brinckerhoff, .\brahani \'ar- 
ick, George R. llenilerson, Jacob Degrofif, Per Lee 
Pine, William S. Morgan, Caspar D. Smith, John P. 
H. Tallman, and Rev. Charles Whitehead, all of 
Ponghkeepsie, and William H. Bostwick, Amenia ; 
N^athan Barratt, Staten Island ; Rev. E. S. Porter, 
Chatham Four Corners ; Rev. .\. Polhemus, Hope- 
well. This school had a vacation of four weeks in 
the spring and a summer vacation of si.x weeks be- 
ginning about the middle of July. 

The Daily Press, May 15th, 1852, contains an ar- 
ticle on the schools of Ponghkeepsie. describin.g par- 
ticularly Mr. Bartlett's School on College Hill, "the 
best of its kind in America," the Dutchess County 
Academy, then in charge of William MacGeorge ; the 
Mansion Square Female Academy, 'Dr. W. P. Gib- 
bons principal, (this school occupied the building 
built for a hotel, now the Jewett Idouse) : the Pongh- 
keepsie Female Academy, Mr. J. C. Tooker, principal. 
On May 26th of the same year, the Press "wrote ttp" 
the public schools, with the statement: "No village 
in the union possesses a superior Free educational es- 
tablishment." There were then a grammar school and 
five primary schools, one of which was for colored 
cbiblren. 

The fame of the village was so great that "The 
State and National Law School" was brought here 
late in December, 18.^2, from Ballston, but as it was 
liardlv fairl\ established before Ponghkeepsie became 
a city, ftu'ther mention of it may be deferred to the 
next chapter. 

Till', PunLIC LlBR.\RY AND THE LyCGUM. 

The I'liblic Library was moved into what was long 
called "The Library Building," 233 and 235 Main 
Street, early in December, 1852. and only a few weeks 
before the Law Schocil began in the same bnildin;^. 
This building in fact was long a literary center. 
Tomlinson's Ponghkeepsie Museum occupied a part 
of the upper floors at this time and for several years 
afterwards. The Librarx' was formed under the 
school district library law in 18^5 doubtless inherit- 
ing some of the books from the older subscription 



uo 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE 



libraries. It was consolidated with the Lancaster 
Librar)- in 1843, and was removed to the upper floor 
of what afterwards became the Phoenix Hose House 
in the rear of the First Reformed Church. Here it 
ijrew slowly to about 3,000 volumes^ until its removal 
to Main Street above noted. 

"The Pous^hkeepsie Lyceum of Literature, Science 
and the ^lechanic Arts" was incorporated in 1838. 
"for the purpose of establishing and maintaining a 
library, cabinet, philosophical apparatus, reading 
room, literary and scientific lectures, and other means 
of promoting moral and intellectual improvement, and 
of accumulating a fund for the benefit of its members- 
as a resource in case of sickness, infirmity and misfor- 
tune." The incorporation was the result of a union 
of the older Lyceum Association and of the Mechanics 
Literary and Benevolent .A.ssociation. The first of 
these, we are told, had a cabinet of 1,500 minerals 
and a few books, and the latter had a library of 270 
volumes. The books ultimately went to the city li- 
brary and the minerals, etc., to Vassar Institute. The 
Lyceum Association was long an important educa- 
tional force in Ponghkeejisie. and brought here the 
iiii'st prnininent lecturers and public men of the days 
when i)eoi)le liked to hear live questions discussed by 
men who knew all about them. It is still nominally in 
existence, but gave up its lecture course in 1S89, an-l 
in 1903 voted to devote its annual income, about $123, 
to the purchase of books for the city library. Nearl\ 
all the leading citizens of Poughkeepsie from 183S 
until a recent period have been at some time members 
of the -Association. Matthew Vassar was its presi- 
dent in 1852. and the papers of early December give 
considerable space to his address on opening the 
course of lectures. R. \V. Knierson was one of the 
lecturers that winter. .After 1850, for many years 
the lectures were held in the Universalist Church 
(previously Presbyterian) in Cannon Street. John 
Grubb. then a book.seller. later became one of the most 
successful managers of the Lyceum, and his name 
was identified with its work for a long time. 

Efforts were made to bolster up and eoutinue the 
Lancaster School after the board schools were opened, 
but without success, and from 1849-50 the building 
on Church Street was used by the German Methodists 
as a i)lace of worship, while their first church, on the 
site of the present one in South Bridge Street, wa; 
building. Tlie T^ancaster school house presently 
passed to the possession of the board of education 
and in 1857 the present School No. 2 was finished and 
opened. 

'See report of committee on fire houses. — ^Vill;iKc miiuitc;. 
April 21, 1851. 



New Churches. 

The Germans came to Poughkeepsie in consider- 
alile numbers only a few years after the Irish and set- 
tled mostly on the south side of Main Street, west of 
.Market. I'y 1838 occasional services had begun to be 
conducted by the German teachers in the Collegiate 
School. The Methodists were first in obtaining an or- 
ganization in 1847, under Rev. Daniel Duerstein, aided 
by C. Lyon of the Washington Street Church and 
Jacob Bahret of the Presbyterian Church. Their first 
church was dedicated Sejit. 22d, 1850. on the site of 
the present one in ."^outh I'.ridge Street. When the 
Lutherans found out that Mr. Duerstein was a Meth- 
odist they withdrew to the basement of the Dutch 
Reformed Church. They were not completely organ- 
ized until 185(1 under Rev. E. Hoffman and were not 
able to own a ])lace of worship until 1858. when the 
old Noxon house on Market Street was purchased 
and fitted for their use. 




T/ic Cannon Street Mctliodist Clitirch. 

\ number of new churches testify to the vigor 
'if tile village during this period. The Baptists in 
1S3C) built the Lafayette Street I'bureh (now Polish 
Catholic I at a cost of $20,000, one-half of which 
was donated liy Matthew A'assar, who persuaded Rev. 
i\ufus i'.;iliciick to return to the ])astorate. The old 
church in Mill Street was rented to the Methodists, 
whii in 1S40 had increased so much as to form a sec- 
ond congngation with Thomas M. Brewer, Thomas 
Sinipsiin, William Wall Reynolds, Ivdmund 1'. Bailey, 
llarr\ \\ra\. David Norris and Egl)ert B. Killey as 
trustees. In 1842 a Universalist congre.gation was 
fdrmed and bnngiit the Alill Street I'.ajitist Church, 
the Methodists finding a temporary home at the \"il- 



HISTORY OF P U G H K E E P S I e. 



147 



lage Hall and the Court House until 1845 when the 
Cannon Street Church (now the Masonic Temple) 
was built at a cost of $8,650. Meanwhile a revival had 
added i,neatly to the Baptist membership and Dr. Bab- 
cock iiad resigned a second time, being succeeded by 
R(-\'. Charles Van Loon, who was aided by Rev. 
Lewis Ra\niond, a noted evangelist. Out of this 
sectMid revival grew differences which divided the con- 
gregation and Mr. Van Loon, with about two-thirds 
i)f the members, bought back the Mill Street Church. 
Tlie Lfniversalists were then without a home imtil 
(he I'resbyterians in 1830 decided tn build a new 
eluireb, when the\' pmxdiased the nld elmreh in Can- 
niiii Street. Considerable building was going on east 
<t\ 1 l.imiltnn Street and the Presbvtcrians, then under 




/'irsl>\i,iiaii Lliurch. toiii dorcu lyn^. Ihr I'tiuc u'lis fciiiovcd 
aboiil i$i)i>. 

the ]iastnrate of Re\'. Hem-y C, Ludlow, dedicated 
tlieir ])re>eiit church' May ^tli, 1851. .\ notable 
CHUtrihutiiin towards its erecticm was $5,000 in the 
stuck of the Washington and Xew Orleans Magnetic 
Telegraph L'onipany by Sanuiel F. B. Morse, who 
was an active member, and a constant attendant when- 
e\er he was in Poughkeepsie. The church trustees 
held this stock for twenty-five years and finally sold 
it for half its face value within a short time of the 
consolidation into the Western Union Company, 
which would have gi\-en it the value its donor had ex- 
jiected it to have. 

The Catholic Church at this time was under the 
able rectorship of Rev. Michael Riordan, who steered 

'Now Cigos) replaced by a much larger and finer build- 
ing. 



it safely through the Native American, or "Know 
Nothing" agitation and brought it to greatly increased 
strength and respect. He had unbounded influence 
over the Irish laborers who were building the railroad, 
and more than once ([uelleil what threatened to he 
serious riots among them. Not a few of them settled 
purchasing homes. The Silk Company, which owned 
much real estate, gave an additional piece of ground 
permanently in Poughkeepsie, saving their wages and 
to the church in i8_^(), and a part of the present build- 
ing was erected in 1844. This became the transept 
when the building was enlarged to nearly its present 
form in 185;,. In the sauu' year (1853) the German 
Catholics completed their first church on Union 
Street, where the present Chin-ch of the Nativity 
stands. The first building cost only $500, the work 
having been partly contributed by zealous Catholics, 
Irish as well as Germans. Rev. John Tanzer was the 
first rector. 

In 1847 the Dutch Reformed congregation, under 
Rev. A. M. Mami's pastorate, outgrew its liuilding 
and organized a second congregation with the fol- 
lowing consistory : Tunis P)rinckerhoff, Charles P. 
Adriance, Abraham G. Storm and Joseph H. Jack- 
son, elders, and James W. Pogardus, Casper- D. 
Smith, Albert Ilrett and John I'. Flagler, deacons. 
The present building, corner of Mill and Catherine 
Streets, was dedicated Feb. 22(1, 1849. ^t '^"o^t $i2,8o-j. 
Ivev. Charles Whitehead was installed as the first 
I'astor October 7th. and the church began with a 
membership of fift\-. 

In 184;^ the colored members of the Alethodist 
Church, who had separated from the Washingt' n 
Street congregation in 1837, built their first church 
on the site of the i)resent one in Catherine Street, In 
1853 the Methodists sent out still another congrega- 
tion, when the Hedding Church on Clover Street was 
built. 

One union religious organization, which still 
exists, dates from this period — The Woman's Union 
Rible and Tract Society. The report of this society 
l)ublished in 1895, gives its history. Bishop Janes, of 
the ]Methodist Episcopal Church, had presided at an 
annual meeting of The Dutchess County Bible So- 
ciety in 1840. and had so prot'orndh stirred man\ 
of the women present that under the leaderslu'i) of 
Mrs. Robert Wilkinson the\' determined to found a 
village organization. .\ccordingly, October 14th, a 
union meeting was held at the Dutch Reformed 
Church, at which a constitution was adopted and 
officers were elected as follows: President, Mrs. 
Frederick W. Flatch (wife of the rector of St. Paul's 



148 



HISTORY OF POUGHKBEPSIE 



Church) : vicc-i)resi(lcnt. Mrs. Peter P. Sanford (wife 
of the presiding elder of the Methodists) ; correspond- 
ing secretary, Mrs. Alexander M. Mann (wife of the 
])astor of the Dutch Church) ; recording secretary. 
Mrs. Theodoras Gregory; treasurer, Mrs. Robert 
Wilkinson. For eight years this "Female Union Bible 
Society," as it was called, remained auxiliary to the 
county society. The work of distribution of tracts 
was added in 1862, through the influence of Mrs. 
Eliza Eager, and in 1868 the society first employed a 
Bible reader to give her time to the work. 

Tin: RuRAi:, Cemetery. 

Before 1850 the village of Poughkeepsie had 
begun to surround most of the little denominational 
grave-yards in tlie \illage. The Dutch Reformed 
Church had already been driven from two, and had 
established a third on the Post Road north of the cit\' 
hnu'ts, and the Episcopal burial ground on Montgom- 
ery Street was no longer on the outskirts. The Bap- 
tist grave-yard' near Garden Street was already in- 
adequate. As long ago as 1809 the village had ap- 
])ropriated $500 for a grave-yard on Montgomery 
Street, and the records seem to indicate that the pur- 
chase was made, but unless the ground was a part of 
the same taken by Christ Church in 1828 no trace of 
it is to be found, and it was certainly small. Possibly 
the idea of a cemetery association was an miti^ri iwlh 
of the clmlera epidemic of 1842, though it did not 
take form luUil several years later, when Matthew 
\'assar, James Bowne and Egbert B. Killey were ap- 
pointed by a village meeting a committee to select a 
site. Mr. Vassar, on recommendation nf the cnm- 
mittee, bought for $8,000 about fifty acres of land on 
the east side of .\cademv Street below Ivlen Hill. 
The association was fonned Decenilier ,v>th. 1852, 
with the following directors: Tlionia.-^ 1,. Da vies, 
[■"lias Trivi-tt, Seward I'.arculo. j. 1'. II. Tallman. Wil- 
liam W. Reynolds. M. X'assar. (jeorge \ an Klceck, C. 
W. Swift, Jacob B. Jewctt. S. B. Johnston, W. C. 
Sterling and James Bowne. They decided not to take 
the pro])erty purchased by Mr. N'assar and he there- 
fore laid it out for himself, from pl;nis made by A. J. 
Downing, the landscape arcliilect. and called it Spring- 
side, a name which it still bears. Mr. X'assar lived 
there for several summers, the cemetery meanwhile 
having been located ijn the Smith Thom])Son jtlace on 
the S(jutb Road, Judge Thomi)son bad died in De- 
cember, 184,^. and was buried in the old T,ivingston 
family plot, where his nioinunenl still stands, onl\' a 

ipor list of fir.st plot owner,'; in the Dutch Reformed cem- 
etery on the Post Road, and in the Baptist hurying ground, 
see Appendix. 



few hundred feet north of the cemetery fence. His 
wife was a Livingston. The Thompson place was 
called the "Rust Platz" as was also the stream (men- 
tioned in Chapter I) which ran through it, and it is 
rather a jiity that this name could not have been re- 
tained for the cemetery, as the meaning, "resting 
])lace," is certainly appropriate. The cemetery was 
dedicated Nov. 2d, 1853, Rev. H. G. Ludlow, Rev. A. 
M. Mann, Rev. Samuel Buel (of Christ Church), 
Jacob B. Jewett and John Thompson taking part in 
the exercises. The old Thompson house, built before 
the Revolution, probably by the Conklin fanfily, from 
whom the first Henry Livingston bought his land, 
stood until .\ugust. 187O. 

A 13.\ii,Y Newsi'.m'Ek .\nd G.\s Light. 

The first daily newspaper in Poughkeepsie was 
started by Isaac Tompkins, editor of the Dutchess 
I)L'iii(>crat. in Xovember. 1849, ^"^ was called The 
Ihiily Bulletin. The town seems not to have been 
ready for a daily then and its career was short, but 
on May 3d, 1852, Nichols, Bush & Co., started The 
Daily Press, non-partisan, with Thomas J. Nichols as 
editor. It was a small paper, a "broadside" of only 
two pages, and was printed on a hand press until 
Sept. 5th, 1853. Albert S. Pease, who had conducted 
the Telegraph after Mr. Killey's death in 1852 until 
about 1856, purchased the Press November 15th, 1858. 
and in December enlarged it to four pages. John 
W. Spaight and John G. P. llolden were associated 
with him and at one time the paper was called 
The Daily City Press. Among items of news in the 
first number was an outline of a plan for a rail- 
road "from Canajoharie to Poughkeepsie." co])ietl 
from the PrattsviUe Advertiser. Such a railroad, the 
writer maintained, "would shorten the distance to New 
York from Canajoharie and all points west of that 
on the Central Line of Railroads, at least fift\ and 
probably sixty miles," 

More important news was the burning of the 
popular river steamboat Henry Clay, near Yonkcrs 
on luly jStli, i85_>. Several residents of Poughkeep- 
sie lost their lives in this disaster, including the wife 
of Charles Hartletl, the principal of the Collegiate 
School. 

I''.veii before the first daily newspaper was the ad- 
veiU of gas light. Pipes were laid in the streets un- 
der authorization from the trustees' in 1850 and in 
December 10th of that year the taxjiayers at a special 

n'ehrnary 18, 1850. Resolution .uilliorizing Charles B. Dun- 
gan, of Philadelphia, and otluTs to open streets on applica- 
tion of Hcnrv D, V;irick. 



HISTORY OP P U G H K B B P S I n. 



149 



election voted down a proposition to use the new il- 
hnninant for street lighting. This, however, was 
merely a vote against hasty action and soon after- 
wards the legislature was asked to amend the charter 
and establish a lamp district.' After this had been 
done (Chapter 401, Laws of 1851) on July 8th, 1851, 
there was a meeting of the owners of real estate, 
September ist, in the district, and they voted just as 
stockholders vote at ordinary corporation meeetings, 
according to the amount of their holdings. Out of an 
assessment of $914,950 it is recorded that $641,700 
voted for gas lights, and the trustees of the village ac- 
cordingly, October 13th, levied a tax of one mill per 
dollar on the district, and accepted the proposition of 
the Poughkeepsie Gas Company to furnish 47 lamp 
posts, and gas at $2.50 per 1,000 feet. November 3d 
the trustees advertised for "burning fluid and for 
lighting lamps not within the lamp district." 

The \'ili,age Fire Department. 

Apparently the establishment of adequate street 
lighting was partly the result of agitation growing 
out of the unusual number of fires that occurred in 
the winter of 1850-1851, many of which were prob- 
ably of incendiary origin. Edward P. Taylor, the 
chief engineer, reported March 17th that there had 
been seventeen fires between November i6th and 
March 4th. Public meetings were held, a reward was 
offered for the conviction of the incendiary and a 
committee of safety was organized. The chief re- 
ported the fire department "second to none in effici- 
ency." It was about this time that the silk factory 
burned, but it does not appear that any of the other 
tires were very serious, though several of them were 
nn Main Street. There were five fire engines, two 
hose carts, one hook and ladder truck, 3,950 feet of 
hose, and 204 firemen, 36 of whom belonged to Davy 
Crockett Hook and Ladder Company, and 16 to each 
of the hose companies. The fire companies sometimes 
got int(j trouble through rowdyism among their mem- 
bers, and in 1844 the old No. i or Red Rover Hose 
Company had been disbanded and locked out by the 
"corporation lock." Oliver H. Booth in June of that 
year organized Phoenix Hose Company in its place, 
and became the foreman, with W. D. Cable as assist- 
ant. 

Engine Company No. 5, known as "Neptune," was 
organized Sept. 28th, 1848, with William C. Smith 
as foreman. Albert H. Champlin, Henry Morris and 
Richard Kenworthy were among the charter members. 
A house was built for the company in Liberty Street, 

'For first lamp district see Appendix. 



where Lady Washington Hose Company is now lo- 
cated, and a new engine, of the piano-box type, then 
the latest thing in fire engines, was constructed under 
contract by Foster & Gale, a Poughkeepsie firm, for 
about $1,000. Up to this time all the engines in use 
in Poughkee])sie had been of the old "goose neck" 
pattern, each engine throwing only one stream. The 




\;,/-" J-'iir Jiii^nu' 



new No. 5 was called a "double engine" because she 
had two couplings for attaching hose, and was expect- 
ed to be powerful enough to supply two other engines 
with water. She was never very successful, but was 
reported as doing good work at the fire which burned 
the dye wood mills of Giflford, Sherman & Innis' in 
February, 1849. The old method of fire-fighting was 
well illustrated at this fire. No. i took suction at the 
river and supplied water to No. 4, and No. 4 supplied 
water to No. 5, which threw two streams on the fire. 
It hardly seems that a line of three engines could 
have been necessary with the river so near at hand, 
but long lines of hose were often laid with engines at 
intervals to push the water along. The men on the 
brakes of the first engine always worked like beavers 
on these occasions to "wash," or flood, the engine next 
ahead, and when this feat was accomplished it was 
received with shouts of approval from the partisans 
of the successful company, and was the cause of much 
boasting. Water pipes had been laid on Main Street 
at first only to the Dutch Church, but were e.KteadeJ 
after a few years to Bayeaux Street, and in 1848 to 
Clover Street. Branches were laid through Market 
Street to Christ Church, through Academy to Cannon 
and on the north side as far as Mill Street. Wells 
and cisterns were often pumped dry before a line of 
hose from the nearest hydrant could be laid. 

As a result of the alarm over the fires of 1850 and 
1 85 1, $350 was voted in 1851 for a new hook and lad- 

lAlong with the report of this fire the Eagle published a 

history of the mill, with the statement that it was raised on 
the day of Braddock's defeat in 1755. "The business of dye- 
wood cutting, etc., was conuncnced first in this country at 
this place by Messrs. Swift, Barnes & Gifford in the year 
1816." 



150 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEHPSIE 



(Icr truck, and appropriations were also made for a 
new house for Engine Company Xo. 4. The firemen 
asked for the use of the upper Ho(jr of the hook and 
ladder building (the old Phoenix building) then the 
iniblic library, and two long reports by special com- 
mittees were made, the first of which, April 21st, 
recommended that the market in the lower floor of the 
village hall be given up and the space be refitted for 
the library. The second report by J. H. Fonda, M. 
N'assar, Jr., and J. M. Cable recommended (Ma\ 
25th) that a new hook and ladder house be built "on 
the east side of Market Square =!= * * a part of 
which is now used for a Public Pound," and that 
Phoenix Hose, then housed in a small building back 
of the Surrogate's office, be placed in the building 




(V</ P/ioiiii.v //(>sr IIoHSf. Tuiii (/o:fii in it)t>i . '///< i iiioii Sti\ 
icas a foDiparalizvly recent addition. 

on the corner of Union Street. These recommenda- 
tions were carried out in 1S52 and resulted in the 
removal of the library \.o "Dr. Pine's new l)uilding" 
(o])posite the court house) and the building of the 
first Davy Crockett house on the present site. No. 
4's new house was built in 185 1 at 100 Main Street. 
The older company, located in Clover Street, nc'ir 
Mill, had been disbanded about ICS46 and was but re- 
cently reorganized with the name Cataract No. 4. 
The names "Protection" for No. i, "Niagara" for 
\'o. 2, and "\\';ishingtiin" for No. 3 seem to date from 
about 1847. 

Oliver H. Piooth was chief of the dejiartment dur- 
ing the eventful years, 1851 and 1852, and he iiad still 
another company to reorganize. Howard Hose Com- 
pany No. 2, jealous of the new houses of Davy 



Crockett and Cataract, presented so many resigna- 
tions that it had to be disbanded, and in the spring of 
1853 the chief organized a new company, which was 
named in his honor O. H. Booth Hose Company. 
There was much rivalry and jealousy among the old 
village fire companies and they occasionally needed 
the command of a firm hand. The new houses of this 
period afforded the first adequate room for the devel- 
opment of club life among the firemen, a feature 
which has since become very prominent. 

A City Ch.^rter. 

In 1850 Poughkeepsie had a population of 10,000 
or more and was considerably larger than some places 
that had been calling themselves cities for a long 
time. Hudson, for instance, a smaller place, 
had been masquerading as a "city" for more 
than fifty years. The limitations of the vil- 
lage charter began to be felt with the intro- 
<luction of the new and sometimes disorderly 
elements brought by the railroad. "We have 
not so much as one corporation police officer, 
bound, as such, to discharge police duties," 
said the Eagle, in March, 1853. There were, 
it is true, certain watchmen, appointed and at 
least partly paid by the village, but the town 
constables were the only regular officers. 
There was far more disorder and drunken- 
ness in the village then than there is in the 
city now. Several gangs of Irishmen known 
locally as Corkonians, Fardowners, ^\ hale- 
dockers, etc., used to indulge occasionally in 
street fights, and they did not always get 
along well with the English and (icrman resi- 
dents. On election days and horse racing 
days the village was "wide open," and the 
streets were often filled with drunken brawlers, creat- 
ing a situation with which the town constables were 
utterly miable to cope. 

There was a conflict of authority also over the 
streets. The highway commissioners of the township 
had charge of surveying and laying out new streets. 
while the village attended to grading, gravelling, pav- 
ing and repairing. School matters introduced a 
further complication. The board of education, under 
the act of 1843, was entirely independent of both town 
and village, but the town still had the collection of 
regular school taxes, a part of which were paid back 
to the villagi-. It was also a source nf com])laint thai 
the village constituted only a single school district 
and hence did not get its share of State money. These 
were reasons sufficient for an amendment to the char- 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 



151 



ter, at least, and there was a conflict for a time be- 
tween the conservative people who wished to retain 
the villas^e name and organization and those who 
wanted an entire!}' new dispensatinn with the en- 
larged powers of a city. The latter were evidently 
inflnenccd. as in all similar cases, by a feeling that 
the wiird "city" sounded much larger than "village'' 
and woidd give the place more standing and add to 
its prosperity. A place which had unrivalled water 
and rail transportation facilities, important industries, 
five banks, eight fire companies, the best schools in 
the State, excellent hotels, a daily newspaper and gas 



and provided that no ballots for trustees should be 
counted which contained more than two names — an 
apparent efifort to secure minority representation. 
The president was given extended authority, but there 
was no provision for a police force. On Mareh 5th 
the Eagle said of the proposed charter, "Man\ of its 
provisions are good but these give us a regular city 
government in everything but name." -At a special 
election, March 21st, the people overwhelmed the 
proposition by a vote of 528 noes and only 31 ayes. 
The matter rested until after the fall elections, and 
then with (k'orgc W. Sterling in the Assembly and 




i'cil (.liKKKl'.SlK IN 1.S52. 
/■roi/i <( l.ilho,-iyaph by li. IV/iilrJititl. T/iis pidiiir s/iozfs the old Whale nock f! nil, Hums at the extienie left. 



lighted streets, was entitled to "put on airs" in the 
middle of the last century. 

Active agitation for a city charter began with the 
Eagle in 1852, and was at first mildh- opjjosed b}- the 
Telegraph, American and Daily Press. Public senti- 
ment grew steadih' more favorable, though many 
leading citizens were afraid the change would greatly 
increase taxes. On Thursday, Feb. 8th, 1853, at a 
public meeting, Joseph H. Jackson, Jacob B. Jewett, 
Charles M. Pelton, William C. Sterling, George R. 
Adriance and John Thompson, a committee previous- 
ly appointed, reported in favor of charter amend- 
ments that retained the name of village, outlined a 
division into four wards, with three trustees from each 



Robert A. Barnard in the Senate, the first city charter 
was introduced in 1854. In the course of a ])lea in its 
favor, February 4th, the Eagle gave the village ex- 
penses under the various authorities as follows : 

Corporation expenses $13,000 

Town charges 12,000 

Schools 4,000 

Highways taxes 3.500 



Total $32,500 

The bill was passed and was signed by Gov- 
ernor Myron H. Clark, on March 28th, and the first 
city election was assigned for the second Tuesday in 
April, the I ith. 




JAMKS KMOTT, 
J''iist Mayor of I'oughkeepsic . 



CHAPTER VIII. 



From the Incorporation of the City (1854) to the Civil War (1861) — Beginnings of City Gov- 
ernment — The Dutch Church and Other Fires — New Churches and Charitable Institutions 
— Business Development and Changes — The Law School and Eastman College — Founding of 
Vassar College — Sports, Ice Yachting, Rowing, Base Ball — Politics Before the War. 



The City of I'oushkeepsie was separated entirely 
from the Town of Poughkeepsie. bounded the same 
as the village, and was divided into four wards, with 
the first and third on the north side of Main Street, 
and the second and fourth on tlie south side, ]Market 
and Garden Streets forming the east and west bound- 
aries. The first city election was on strict party lines, 
the Whigs nominating James Emott for Mayor and the 
Democrats James H. Weeks, who had been a member 
of .Assembly in 1853. Emott won by a majority of 397 
in a total vote of 1,635, ^"d Dr. William Thomas was 
elected Recorder by 384 over Edward A. Bottolph. 
The vote by wards was as follows : 

1st. 2d. 3d. 4tli. 

James Emott 320 232 257 173 

JamoOI. Woeks 195 139 127 124 

The First Ward was evidently not yet a stronghold 
of Democracy, and in fact the city had scarcely yet 
begun the development of residence districts for the 
well-to-do uptown. The choice of Garden Street, in- 
stead of Washington, for the boundary between the 
first and third wards was not therefore altogether a 
■'gerrymander." The aldermen elected were as fol- 
lows. 

First Ward — William H. Tallmadge, llenjamin U. 
Reynolds. 

Second Ward — James II. Seaman, James T. Hill. 

Third \\'ard — \\'illiam .\. Fanning, Henry S. 
Martin. 

I'lmrth Ward — Henry D. \'arick, Lewis F. Streit. 

Mr. Seaman was the only Democrat elected. The 
meeting for organization was on Monday, April 17th, 
at 10 o'clock in the morning. Benjamin B. Reynolds 
was appointed clerk pro tem. "Ordinances in relation 
to the meetings of the Common Council, the passage 
and publication of Corporation Laws and to establish 
a City Seal" were passed. Aldermen \'arick, Tall- 
madge and Seaman were appointed an ordinance com- 



mittee, and then there was an adjournment to 7 p. m. 
At the evening session Robert N. Palmer was chosen 
City Chamberlain and his bond was fi.xed at $25,000, 
and Warren Skinner was appointed Commissioner of 
Streets, with a bond of $5,000. Committees on excise, 
(the license fee was $30), on streets, and on public 
buildings were appointed and the following additional 
city officers were chosen b}- the .Mdermen : 

John Winslow, City Marshal. 

William Graham and James Sparks, police officers. 

William Berry, Chief Engineer, fire department. 

Samuel Budd, First Asst. Engineer. 

Stephen Armstrong, Second Asst. Engineer. 

Fire Wardens — Enos H. Palmer, John H. P. Yel- 
verton, James W. Bogardus, John C. Harvey, Wil- 
liam C. Southwick, Charles Underwood, William H. 
Green, Charles C. Carman, James Brower, Henry R. 
Power. E. F. ISasley, Robert K. Tnthill, James H. 
Dudley, John R. Leiit. Elias G. Hopkins and Oliver 
S. Henderson. 

Mayor Emott resigned in Jainiary, 1856, having 
been elected a Supreme Court justice, and Henry D. 
\'arick was appointed to fill the vacancy until the elec- 
tion in March, when George Wilkinson, the first can- 
didate of the new Republican party, was chosen 
ma\or by a vote of 844 to 697 for Leonard B. Sackett. 

In 1858 Charles W. Swift was elected the third 
mayor of Poughkeepsie, receiving 1,054 votes, while 
John H. Otis, (Dem.), who had been State senator in 
1852 and 1853, received 850. At this election Henry 
\V. Shaw (Josh Billings) became an aldemian from 
the Fourth Ward. He lived at that time on the corner 
of Hamilton and Cannon Streets, and had not yet be- 
gun to win fame as a spelling reformer and humorist, 
but was picking up a rather precarious living as an 
auctioneer. His first published writings were little 
squibs in correct spelling over the signature "Sled- 
length," generally in the Press. In i860 he inserted a 
full page advertisement in Lent's city directory, con- 



15-1: 



H I s r O R y O f P O V G II k h h p s i e 



taining only the words, "Henry \\'. Shaw. Hamilton 
I'lacc. Cor. South Hamilton and Church, Poughkee])- 
sie." He then lived where St. Mary's Church now 
stands, and was still an alderman. 

All city elections were contested on strict party 
lines and all. except the first, were held in March until 
1874. John H. Otis was the Democratic candidate 
for mayor again in 1861 and carried both the First 
and Third \\'ards. this being the first time the Demo- 
crats had carried the First Ward in a municipal elec- 




CIKOROH Wri.KIX.^ON. 
Scaiinl Mayor of I'oiii^hkccl'sic. 

lion. James llowne. his Re])ul)lican oppimmt. was 
nevertheless elected by a small majority, receiving 
1,025 votes to 996 for ( )lis. James ICmott was. ])er- 
haps. the most notable of the early mayors, but George 
Wilkinson and Charles W. Swift were men of prom- 
inence and high standing, members of families long 
among the leading forces in the comnnmily. (icnrge 
Wilkinson was a brother of Robert and (lilhert \\ il- 
kinson, of whom we have read something in former 
chapters. 



The Dutch Church axd Othhr Firks. 

There was considerable agitation soon after the 
cil\'s incorjioration in favor of a water supply that 
Could be used for all purposes as well as for extin- 
guishing fires. ])ut the war caused a sus])ension of 
the plans. The city evidently took over from the 
village a rather dilaj)i(lated lot of fire apparatus, ac- 
cording to the rejxirt of the chief engineer published 
March 2gth. 1854. "Xo. 3 1 find much worn. -•' '■■' * 
Her company have abandoned her and have not ap- 
peared at fires since election day. Xo. 4 is in good 
working order, but not large enough to take her place 
in line with X'o. I, and No. 5 is entirely abandoned by 
her company." A sixth engine company was organ- 
ized in 1856 called Young America, and was lo- 
cated in the growing southwestern part of town, at 
first in a barn o,\\ Tnli]) Street. Old Protection N^o. 
I was dislianded about iS5(), and reorganized, .\fter 
the war, at a second reorganiz.-Uinn. it was calU-d for a 
short time Perseverance Xo. 1 . 

One of the important fires of this time, and in fact 
one of the most memorable events of the city's his- 
tiiry. was the burning of the Dutch Church nn .Main 
Street. Sunday. January 18th. 1857. It was an in- 
tensely cold day. Xo old resident will admit that the 
weather has ever been so cold since then, even dur- 
ing the past winter (11)04). The Weekly I'.iii^lr of 
January 24th says the cold was almost unhearal)le. 
The thermometer was at 13 below zero at noon and 
a strong north wind was bliiwi)ig which forced it 
dow)) til 20 before dark, tlmugh in the )iieantiine a 
snow st(irn) had set in. The fire started in the roof 
nf the clnn-ch just at the close of Rev. Dr. Ma)ni's 
n)Mrni]ig ser)))(in a]id was discovered soon after the 
congregation had bi'cn disn)issed. 

"The firemen rushed to the rescue with their ma- 
chines, but as the hydrants were partially f)"ozen. there 
was some delay before water could be obtainetl. In 
the meantime the flames were increasing with fear- 
ful rai)idity in the roof of the church, fanned to a 
fury by the continuous blasts of wind. When things 
were ready, one heroic fireman started up the long 
ladder planted on the east side, to take up the pipe 
to the roof, but the cokl was so intense it was doulit- 
ful if he could live thei"e twenty minutes, and the hose 
was so slippery with ice it was imjiossible for his 
assistants to hold it up. So efl'orts to save the church 
had to be abandoned, and atte])tion directt-d to the 
buildings around. * " * 

".\s the fire i)rogressed. the sight became fearful 
and sublime, if not terrible in the extreme. The en- 
tire roof, being conijiosed of wood, cedar shingles 
laid on pine backing, sent up a mass of reil flatnes, 
crackling and roaring in the wind, the extent and 
grandeur of which can hardh' be ijuagined. But the 




CHAKI.I-:S \V. SWIIT. 
Third Mayor of J'oi<x/i/;c;piif 



lo6 



HISTORY OF POUGHKBEPSIR. 



g;rcatcst sight of all was the burning steeple. As 
the flames got hold of that they ascended with a 
rapidity that occupied but a few minutes until the red 
volume shot up beyond the ball and vane at the sum- 
mit, presenting a fearful column of fire ascending far 
up towards the clouds. Above and below all was 
flame and smoke for a short time; but soon the lower 
timbers that supported the steeple were burned away, 
and then down came the lofty spire with a tremen- 
dous crash, carrying what remained of the burning 
roof with it down to the interior of the church. 
There the mass of burning material was so great that 
the entire space inside the walls, which fortunately 
stood, seemed filled with flames until ten at night, 
although several streams of water were steadily pour- 
ed in by the engines." 

A number of the firemen were severely frost-bitten 
on this occasion and tlie piano-box engine Xo. 5. 
froze up solidly and went out of service. A few 
weeks later (Feb. 24th) the "Red Mills" on vSmith 
Street were burned, — John R. Lent's plaster mill. 
David B. Lent's bedstead manufactory, and Sanford 
& Hull's machine shop, with some smaller buildings. 
The loss was estimated at $25,000. The present 
brick factory buildings at the head of Mill Street 
were erected soon afterwards. 

The most serious fire of the period, scarcely less 
.serious than the great fire of 1836, described in Chap- 
ter \T. broke out about 3 o'clock on the morning of 
July 24th, i860, in the stable attached to Ebenezer 
Carys market. "In less than an hour the whole block 
bounded by Catherine, Main and Crannell Streets was 
in a blaze, and the buildings on the other side of the 
street were scorching and were only saved by almost 
miraculous exertions." It was a strenuous night for 
the firemen, for the Commercial Paint Works, a good 
sized building, just west of I'elton's factory on lnwcr 
Mill Street, had burned the evening before, and the 
firemen had barely reacln-d thrir homes when tlu\ 
were summoned to cope with the much greater firi' 
on Main Street. Several buildings on Catherine and 
Crannell Streets as well as all those between were de- 
stro\-ed. Caleb Morgan owned fnnr df the buildings 
burned, near Catherine Street, and his loss was ]}ut 
down as $10,000. Xathaniel Hill also owiud four 
buildings, loss $5,000. Abraham Wright three, loss 
$2,500. Andrus & Dudley, who had a furniture store- 
in the block, lost $6,500.. Among others burned out 
were B. I,. Hannah's Gazette printing ofifice, John 1"'. 
Coxhead, John W. Shields. X. Hill & Son's soap fac- 
tory and John P. Xelson. 

This fire resulted in an agitation for a steam fire 
engine, combatted by some of the con.servative, who 
thought another hand engine would do as well. The 
hand engine proposition was voted down shortly be- 



fore the war, and April 22d, 1S61, the taxpavers au- 
thorized an appropriation of ,'^3,100 for a steamer 1)\- 
a vote of III to 4. The engine arrived in 1862 and 
was assigned to Xo. 4. It was of the rotary type and 
rather heavy, but still not too heavy to be dragged 
around with ropes by the sturdy firemen of the day. 
A second steamer, for Xiagara Xo. 2. was purchased 
a few years later. 

Xkw Church i-;s and Ciiarit.\iu,i: Ixstitutioxs. 

The present First Reformed Church was built 
soon after the fire on the same site and was dedicated 
September 7th, 1858. The tower, as originally built, 
was surmounted by a lofty spire, which remained un- 
til 1878, when it was condemned as unsafe and was 
taken down. The present Congregational Church was 
finished and dedicated June 5th, i860, and the old 
Congregational Church on the corner of Vassar and 
Mill Streets was sold for a Jewish synagogue, the 
Hebrews having maintained an organization here, un- 
der the name of "The Children of Israel" since 1848. 

The Church of the Holy Comforter was the result 
of meetings begun in the winter of 1854-1855, and re- 
vived in 1858 under the auspices of Christ Church. 
They were held in Shaw's Hall on Main Street, near 
the old Xo. 4 Kngine House, and the attendance be- 




C/nor/! oj III,- IlolyComfoil,-! Ih/oiy tlu- Fnurs r.vw A',m,>:;-i/. 

came so encouraging that William .\. Davies. who was 
greatly interested, became convinced of the necessitv 
of a free church in that part of the city, and deter- 
mined to Iniild it himself. He lived in the house on 



HISTORY OF POUGHKBBPSin 



157 



]\Iain Street, afterwards the home of Hon. George 
Innis, and with hi.s brother, Thomas L. Davies, owned 
considerable property in the neighborhood. May lotli, 
1859, articles of incorporation were filed, the first 
trustees being Samuel Buel, Thomas L. Davies, 
William A. Davies, Robert E. Coxe, John W. Van 
Wagner, George Cornwell and Benjamin R. Tenney. 
A new street, Davies Place, was opened and Wm. A. 
and Thomas L. Davies gave the church a lot 123 feet 
square by deed dated May loth. On June 29th the 
corner stone was laid by Bishop Horatio Potter and 
on October 25th, i860, the new church was conse- 
crated. Rev. John Scarborough becoming the first 
rector. He remained until 1867 when he was suc- 
ceeded by Rev. Robert Fulton Crary, still in active 
service. 

The buikling of the Home for the Friendless, 
corner of Hamilton and Franklin Streets, was finished 
in 1857, but the society known as "The Poughkeepsie 
Female Guardian Society" dates back to 1847 and 
was incorporated in 1852. No very large donations 
were made for the home, but "slowly little by little 
the mites were gathered. " There seems to have been 
an unusual amount of poverty and distress in Pough- 
keepsie during the winter of 1857, judging from the 
reports of meetings held for the relief of the poor, 
and the home was opened at the right time. It was at 
firsfi designed to "provide a temporary home for 
respectable females without employment or friends" 
as well as "destitute and friendless children of both 
se.xes, until they can be committed to the guardian- 
ship of foster-parents, or worthy families." The board 
of managers has always been a large one, "not to 
exceed forty" and "comprising as far as practicable. 
a representation from the various evangelical denom- 
inations." In 1861 there were twenty-eight ladies 
in the board. The "Home for the Friendless" was 
considered a notable institution and there is nuieh 
about it in the newspapers of the first few years after 
it was founded. It was visited by philanthropists 
from other cities and was considered one of the show 
places of the town. The name "Female Guardian 
Society" was dropped in 1868 and also the words of 
the original charter as to providing a home for un- 
employed women. Most of the leading women in 
Poughkeepsie have served, or are serving, on the 
board of managers, and among those who were most 
active in the early days may be mentioned Mrs. Julia 
A. Killey, Mrs. Theodorus Gregory and Mrs. Isaac 

iThe first constitution and a meagre history of the origin 
of the work is given in the first printed report, for the year 
ending February 22, 1861. 



Piatt. Mrs. Killey left her own comfortable home 
for a \-ear and served as matron of the Home with- 
out ]iay in order to see it well started. 

In July, 1870, there was a proposition to remove 
the Home for the Friendless into the country, Mr. 
William C. Smillie offering his handsome place and 
thirty-six acres on the Hyde Park road. As the pres- 
ent ]iropcrty could not be sold to advantage he gave 
the society $5,000 in cash instead. 

The Young Men's Christian Union, a forerunner 
of the Young Men's Christian Association, was or- 
ganized April 6th, 1856, with the following officers : 
President, .\lfred B. Smith ; vice-presidents, for the 
Baptist Church, Thomas E. Vassar ; Congregational 
Church, Robert K. Tuthill ; Episcopal Church, Abra- 
ham Bockee ; Dutch Reformed Church, J. Henry 
Ilager ; Methodist Church, William Lee ; correspond- 
ing secretary, John I. Piatt : recording secretary, 
James Smith, Jr. ; treasurer, Henry Seaman ; librarian, 
William Halpin ; registrar, James Bowne, Jr. ; man- 
agers, John S. Perkins, R. K. Tuthill, A. Bockee, J. 
H. Hager, J. F. Lewis, Robert F. Wilkinson. On the 
day of the burning of the Morgan Block this asso- 
ciation conducted a steamboat excursion to New York 
to see the wonderful steamship Great Eastern. The 
meeting rooms were at No. 2 Union Street, "adjoin- 
ing the post office." 

Business .\nd Otiikr Dkvei.opment. 

About the time of the incorporation of the city an 
effort was made to revive the manufacture of locomo- 
tives in Poughkeepsie. The Eagle of July 9th, 1853, 
spoke of "the great locomotive factory of this place, 
built seventeen years ago and still stamling deserted," 
adding "Poughkeepsie locomotives ought to be as far 
famed throughout the Union as Poughkeepsie schools 
or Dutchess County agriculture." Not long after- 
wards a company was formed to take this factory, and 
for a time blue vitriol and other chemicals were manu- 
factured there, under the direction of Ludwig Eb- 
stein, afterwards for many years chemist for Gifford, 
Sherman & Innis. The buildings were purchased by 
the Fallkill Iron Company and were torn down in 
1859 when the "Upper Furnace" was built. In the 
same neighborhood, near the foot of Hoffman Street, 
which then extended through to the river, were two 
cooperages, relics of whaling days, one conducted by 
the Lowns and the other by Sleight & Paulding. An 
effort was made to revive the project for a railroad to 
the eastward in 1855 and 1856, but it entered another 
long jxM-iod of rest after the panic of 1857. 

Before the Upper Furnace was built the local iron 



15S 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 



iiidustrv went throuijh a reorganization, caused by the 
failure of Edward Bech. who was a partner in the 
Cunard Steamship Company. The steamship busi- 
ness failed in the panic of 1857 but the local iron 
business remained .sound and was taken over by Wil- 
liam A. Davies, James Emott and Charles W. Swift 
until matters were straightened out. when Albert E. 
Tower came into possession of a much larger inter- 
est. Judge Emott became the first ])resident of the 
Fallkill Iron Company, which conducted the Upper 
Furnace until the consolidation. The Lower Furnace 
was abandoned in 1885 and scarcely a trace of it re- 
mains. 

An industry that was to become as far-famed as it 
was hoped that Poughkeepsie locomotives might be 
was just beginning at this time. John Adriance, 
whose name has several times already appeared in 
this history, had become interested in the recently in- 
vented mowing machines. He had been one of the 
partners in the old Dutchess Iron Works, and had 
begun to build a mowing machine called the "For- 
bush." Tn the fall of 1S34 his son, John 1\ Adriance, 
who was a member of the wholesale hardware firm 




h'cii A/i7/s />uildi7ixs. I'liotograplicd about /SSo. 

of Sears, .Xdriancc & Piatt in New York, became in- 
terested in the '"Manny" mower and wint \. r a lew- 
years to Worcester. Mass.. wlure it was manufac- 
tured. In 1S37 tlu- firm purchased the right to make 
and sell, in their lerrilory. a mower patented by .\ult- 
man & Miller, of Canton. ( )hio. and in 1851) Mr. .Vd- 
riance returned to Poughkeepsie and leased the i-ied 
Mills, newly rebuilt, for the manufacture of the .\d- 
riance P.uckeye. TlKonas S. I'.rown. who had become 
associated with Mr. Adrianct' in May. 1858, greatly 
imi)rove<l this mowing iii.'ichine by iiis inventions and 
in 1864 tin- Ked Mills iii-nju'ru became loo small and 
the ])resent location, formerly ;i pari of the Soiitli- 



wick [irojierty. was purchased. The buildings were 
completed and occupied in 1865. as will appear in the 
next chapter. 

.\n important industry of thi.s period was Louis 
\Methan's piano factory, on Market Street. Mr. 
Wiethan's sales were largely in the south, and his 
business was ruined by the war, though it was revived 
and carried on by his sons on Main Street. The large 
frame building on ]\Iarket Street stood for many years 
as a tenement house, until it was torn down to make 
room for the Adriance Memorial Librarv. 

Shi]j-building at the Finch Ship-yard, foot of 
Dutchess Avenue, continued to flourish. The large 
steamboat "Reliance" was built there in 1854, the fast 
schooner, Matthew \'assar, Jr.. in 1855-56 and the 
schooner O. H. Booth soon afterwards. Finch sold 
the yard to Charles Murphy in 1859, and removed to 
Bull's Ferry, and George Polk set up ways on the 
brewery property in partnership with Oliver H. Booth, 
and constructed a considerable number of vessels 
there. The propeller Joseph H. Barnard, was built 
just before the war, and was finall_\- sold to some al- 
leged Cubans or Spaniards. The government sus- 
pected that she was wanted by the Confederates and 
she got to sea only after considerable difficulty. 
Charles .Murphy, who ])urchased the old hinch sliip- 
yartl. made little use of it, and soon sold the ways, 
lie owned considerable property in the neighborhood, 
including most of the old Whale Dock. The lime 
kilns, remains of which max still be seen mi tiie north 
side of Dutchess .\venue, were conducted i)\- him. 

During this period Charles Crook & Co. (Charles 
Crook and James Collingwood ) were running the pro- 
pellor "Sherman" twice a week from the Lower 
Landing to Xew ^drk. while the barge "Exchange" 
was run from Main Street, and the barge "Re- 
l)ublic" from the I'pper Landing. The steamboat 
"Dutchess" succeeded the "Exchange" at Main Street 
not long before the war. 

The wagon and carriage manufacturing business 
was carried on by a number of firms, chief among 
whom were Streit & Lockwood. 426, 428 and 428><; 
M;iin Street ; llrooks & Marshall. 401 and 40,^ Main 
Slreel. and John W. h'rederick. The latter advertised 
in I'nderhiU's directory for 1857, "The largest and old- 
est establishment of the kind in Dutchess Comity," 
on Main ,*^lreet, near N'assar Street. This was the 
same factory which, after the war. was conducted for 
a time In O. C. Ilurn;!]!, who built the Atwaler Mouse 
opposite S])ringside.' Jlannah & Storm, 423, 4-^5 

1 IJiirnap was a retired manufacturer, and purchased the 
])riipeily known as "Woodsidc" in 1856. 




ALBERT TOWER. 



160 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIB. 



and 427 Main Street, advertised in 1859 ^^ "Silver and 
electro platers, manufacturers of carriage and sad- 
dlery, hardware, brass and silver carriage bands, hick- 
ory spokes, felloes, seat spindles, &c." 

Among present enterprises established before the 
war may be mentioned the brewery of \'. Frank's 
Sons, which dates from 1858 and is to-day the only 
survivor of the once great Poughkeepsie brewing in- 
dustry. At the time of its establishment there were 
several small breweries, as well as the great Vassar 
establishment, all doing apparently a good business. 



advertised the opening of their "new store," 328 Main 
Street, mentioning Charles P. Luckey as a partner, 
and also all their salesmen, "Daniel Jones, Benja- 
min M. \'ail, Spencer C. Doty, Frank E. Whipple." 
This firm, the predecessor of Luckey, Piatt & Co., had 
been located at 245 Main Street, in the Brewster 
Block, and on moving to its new quarters tore out the 
old front, with its folding shutters, and put in the first 
plate glass show windows in town. Down to this 
time the general aspect of Alain Street was much like 
that of the average village business street. Almost 




.)/(//// S/i;r/ ill /S6<i. /uoi-iiix II 'is/ front a/nnr the conicr 0/ I.ihiiy a>id (.'anlni Streets. 



Many men, afterward |)rominent. began their 
careers as clerks about the time of the incorporation 
of the city, or soon afterward. Charles P. Luckey, J. 
DuBois Carpenter, William T. Reynolds, James IL 
Ward and lulmund P. Piatt were among them. The 
leading advertisers in the Jiagic in i860 were the drug- 
gists, Y'an X'alkenburgh & Coffin, James G. Wood & 
Co., and Morgan L. Farnum ; the dry goods firms, 
W. S. & W. H. Crosby, and Robert Slec & Co. ; and 
W. H. Tallmadge, hardware. Mr. Tallmadgc adver- 
tised "The oldest cstablisheil hmise in the city," 260 
Main Street. Robert Slec & Co., in the spring of i860. 



all the store fioors were up at least two stei)s fi'din 
the sidewalk, the windows were of small panes, and 
the only two Cdntinuous r<i\\s of brick stores were the 
Brewster Bluck, built in 1830, ;uid the block west of 
Academy Street in the district burned in iS^d. l'",.\- 
cept in these tuu blncks most of the stores had lieeii 
originally hotises. Thomas L. Davies. one of the rich- 
est men in town, had liveil on .Main Street until 1853. 
when he sold his house to William A. Van Kleeck and 
moved to Mansion S(|uare. The Main Street house 
retained its llights of steps for a long time after it was 
converted into a hat store. Most of the lirick build- 



HISTORY OP POUGHKEBPSIB 



161 



ings on the street were but two stories and a half high. 
Farmers' teams, hitched to posts, Hncd the street (hir- 
ing busy seasons, and droves of sheep and cattle going 
to and from the river were not unusual. 

Besides the firms already mentioned, other promi- 
nent advertisers in i860 were George M. Van Kleeck, 
310 and 312 Main Street, on the second floor of which 
the Bagle was printed until it was burned out in 1862 ; 
George H. Beattys, 254 Main Street, Edwin J. Wilber. 
302 Main Street, dry goods ; J. Bowne & Co., 318 Main 
Street, and Broas Brothers, 314 Main Street, carpets; 
Payne & Fowler, 339 Main Street, and F. S. Phinney, 
267 Main Street, drugs; Stephen Uhl, 279 ISIain 
Street, hardware ; J. Ransom, 330 Main Street, crock- 
ery and glassware ; William Frost & Son, corner Main 
and Garden Streets, Daniels, Briggs & DuBois, 268 
Main Street, stoves and tinware ; Trowbridge & Wilk- 
inson, 321 Main Street, "Fanners' Store;" James Col- 
lingwood. Lower Landing, coal and lumber; Rieden- 
ger & Caire, pottery ; S. Cleveland, 255 Main Street, 
books and musical instruments ; Stephen H. Bogardus, 
"nearlv opposite the Gregorv House," harness, sad- 
dles, etc. ; Overbaugh & Stanton, sporting goods ; 
Bo\d & Wiltsie, leather belts, etc. ; J. H. Dobbs, mer- 
chant tailor, and George T. Brown, clothier. A few 
grocers, including John W. Dean & Son (cor. Bridge 
Street), John McLean, (next west of Poughkeepsie 
Hotel), Lemuel J. Hopkins and John W. Miller, were 
advertising occasionally. James Smith & Son, i r and 
18 Market Street, announced that they had "lately 
gone to a great expense in fitting up a large Dining 
Saloon in their new building lately erected for a first 
class confectionery.' This marks the beginning, in its 
present location, of the long famous "Smith's Restau- 
rant," but not the beginning of the business, which 
was a number of years earlier. 

The list of business men may be completed by con- 
sulting the directory for 1859-60, in which the leading 
advertisers were David S. Mallor\-, 359 Main; 
Andrus & Dudley, 351 Main, furniture; 1\. S. Forster, 
215 Main, soda and mineral waters; Palmer & Budd, 
347 Main, stoves ; Joseph E. Allen, cor. Academy, 
stoves ; Dudley & Thompson, foot of Main Street, coal 
and lumber; \'an Kleeck & Knickerbocker, "ne.xt north 
of Dudley & Thompson's lumber yard," box manu- 
facturers; S. L. Walker, corner Main and (jarden 
Streets, "Poughkeepsie Gallery of .Art. " ur "Daguer- 
rian Gallery :" J. S. Atkins, 329 Main, ice cream, 
oysters, etc. : William C. Arnold, L'pper Landing, lum- 
ber; William B. West, "opposite Gregory House," 
hardware; P. S. Rowland, 211 Main, "city bakery;" 
Joseph W. Gerow & Co., 10 Garden, George W. Hal- 
liwell, 290 Main, Adam Henderson, corner of Main St. 



and South Avenue. Lewis C. Hammond, 283 Main. 
and F. F. Ouintard, 7 Liberty, jewelers; Henry A. 
Reed, 255 Main, books and stationery ; Liberty Hyde, 
295 Main, Helms & Peters, 8 Garden, Charles Anthes, 
274 Main, S. B. Reckard, 324 ]\Iain, S. Shultz, 290 
]^Iain, boots and shoes ;• Thomas Platto, South Hamil- 
ton, near Main, blacksmith and dealer in lightning 
rods ; Adam Robson, 204 Main, blacksmith ; William 
H. Barry, cor. Main and Garden, book bindery ; P. A. 
Joy, near H. R. R. R. depot, stone cutter; William 
Shields, 381 JMain, painter ; James Mulrein, South 
Avenue, plumber; Joseph H. Cogswell, 236 Main, 
agent for Rochester nurseries ; John R. Lent, Red 
Mills, plaster, flour and feed ; Hiram Haight, auc- 
tioneer ; L. M. Arnold. 374 Main. A. J. Coffin & Co., 
Mill, corner Delafield, L PL Collcr, 420, 422, 424 
]\Iain, iron foundries ; C. H. & William Sedgewick, 
'^S7> 159 Main; J. & J. Ogden, G. Sanford, Red 
Mills, machine shops ; E. O. Flagler, "Director of 
Music at the Presbyterian Church," teacher of organ 
and piano, residence 40 N. Clover : E. C. An- 
drus, S. Clover, teacher of vocal music ; Henry C. 
Miller, D. Bartlett. Solomon Y. Frost, insurance; 
Simpson & Beesmer, coal, Southwick's dock; Gregory 
House, T. Gregory ; The Poughkeepsie Hotel, John 
H. Rutzer; Northern Hotel, Isaac L Balding; Forbus 
House, E. P. Taylor ; Fowler liouse, cor. Main and 
Washington, George P. Fowler. Among the dentists 
advertising were Charles H. Roberts, 254 Main. J. A. 
Jillson, 328 Alain, A. Clark, 332 Main, "over J. Bart- 
lett's bakery," A. Fonda, 265 Main. Farrington & 
Co., 266 Main Street, advertised crockery, etc., in the 
1857 directory, and Carpenter & Brother (successors 
to Leonard Carpenter), advertised groceries at 320 
Main Street. James Blanchard, Underwood & Son, 
X. PL Canfield, Wright & Irish, R. E. Adriance & Co., 
and Thomas Clegg were among grocers advertising 
in i860. James T. Hill. 20 Catharine Street, Anna- 
bury & Seaman, 6 Union Street, were the advertising 
livcr}men. 

D. Scott & Co.'s soap and candle factory was run- 
ning in 1859 at its present location, corner of Mill and 
Bayeaux Streets, but the building had been used not 
long before as a public school. At about the same 
time the old factory building in the same neighborhood 
was used as a chair factory by \\'est & Depew. The 
Bartlett Bakery, which had been started as a bakery of 
"pilot bread" near the river in whaling days, was at 
this time at 332 Main Street, the bakery in the rear 

iTliere are nine other boot and shoe dealers named in 
the directory but not advertising. They included W. A. 
Candee, 258 Main; and there were also nineteen persons 
classed as "Boot and Shoe Manufacturers." 



1(>2 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIB. 



at the present location, but it was not exclusively de- 
vt)ted to the production of crackers until after the 
war. Joseph O. Bartlctt lived over the store, and it 
was there that his daughter married Otis Bisbee. 

Jiank presidents and cashiers in 1859-60 were: 
i'.ank of Poughkeepsie, Thomas L. Davies, president. 
Reiihen North, cashier; Fallkill Bank, William C. 
Sterling, president, John F. Hull, cashier; Farmers' 
and Manufacturers' Bank. William .\. Davies. presi- 
dent. Fred W. Davis, cashier ; Merchants' Bank. 
James Eniott. president. Joseph C. Harris, cashier; 
Savings Bank. John B. Forbus. president, Josiah I. 
I'nderhill, treasurer. 

The Cit\ liank was organized March 3rd, i860, 
with John 1'. H. Tallman, Joseph F. Barnard, Samuel 



l)anies were to be found in many places, but nearly 
all of them failed, as did the Poughkeepsie Mutual, 
because of the difficult}- of collecting assessments 
whenever losses were unusually heavy. The Dutch- 
ess Mutual had the support of strong men and was 
long under the presidency of James Emott, the elder, 
but it had its times of depression, before its reorganiza- 
tion as a stock company, as told in the excellent sketch 
to be found in the Appendix. Its present building 
was purchased in 1855, and has recently been much 
enlarged by an addition in the rear. 

Among persons of wealth and prominence who 
came to Poughkeepsie during this period, because of 
its attractions as a place of residence, were Henry L. 
Young, John de l\'\ster Douw and Robert Sanford. 



ill 

! 1 « 1 






_^Z^n^^ '! ii.»'''-;i"Rt"^B 


8 




T^' i^ 


rpj 1 Jii^ii^^^ 


.?^'_«*f#j 


-i.«,«r-*-- . ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 



/>!//< //CSS Mutual /usuriiiUT Coiupaiiy. 



Maltlu'ws. fieorge Lanidree. C"hrist< i]iber Hughes, 
Millnn I l;im. Moses G. Sands, Nicholas Strippel. W'il- 
Hani R. Seliell, Ambrose Mygatt. Wilson I'.. SheldiMi, 
l)a\id 1). \'inei-nt, llcnjamin I lopkins, Jcihn I'.rill, 
llenjamin I lalslead. William DuuglUy ;ind (.". A. \ an 
X'alkenburgh as the first direclnrs. bi>r])li F. I'.ar- 
nard was the first ])residenl and Jnlin T. Hanker die 
first cashier. ( l''urther jiartieulars abcml both this 
bank and llie Poughkeepsie l'.;mk are tn be foiuid in 
the sketch of The Poughkeei>sie Trust C"i>ni])an\, in 
the .\p])en(lix). 

'i'heri' were two insurance comi)anies at this time 
in I'ougiikeepsie. the Old Dutchess Mutual, the organ- 
ization of which was noted nn i)age 113, and The 
Pcnighkeepsie Mutual. The dflice nf the Latter was 
at No. 9 Garden Street, in charge nf S. H. I>nllnn. 
secretarv. At that tiini' niutn;d lire insmanee enm- 



Mr. ^'oung's ])m-chase of the \ an W'agenen place on 
Smith Hamilton Street has already l)een mentioned. 
Mr. Dniiw' was of a distinguished Albany family, sev- 
er;d i^\ bis ;incostors having been niasurs of that city, 
lie came to Poughkeepsie in 1854 and renteil fmni 
Genrge H. Lent the property now owned by Robert 
Sanford. wlm purchased it a few years later, soon after 
Col. Douw nidved to .\orth \\'en\ie. l\lr. Sanford 
was a son of lion. Xatban .Sanford. one of tlie most 
prominent men in tln' State. ;inil the snect'ssor of 
James Kent as Chancellor. 

Schools — Tin-; Paw Si'iiooi. a.nd ICast.m an Coi.Licr.ic. 

The removal of the ,Stat(.' and X;ilion;il Paw School 
to I'onghkeejisie in net'eniber. 1S5J. lias ;dread\ been 
brielK mention^•(l. |olin W. l'"owler, till' ])resident of 
I Sic Appeiulix for bioyraiiliieal .sketch. 




ROBERT SAXFORn. 
{S(V .-ippciidix for biographical skclch.) 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIB 



165 



the institution, had been the first lecturer in the Ly- 
ceum course in 1852-1853, and spoke for two hours, 
"lout who on Friday evening noted time," says the 
f'rcss report of the lecture, "The man revels in the 
richness of fancy. There is no efTort, the thoughts 
tlow upon him eager for the drapery of his eloquence." 
Those were the days of oratory and "fine writing," and 
thougli 'Sir. Fowler was undoubtedly a man of much 
ability, some of the people who remember him de- 
scribe him as a ver}- pompons persima^e who wore a 
much-padded coat. 

In his circular letter announcing the removal of 
the school to Poughkeepsie, Mr. Fowler says that the 
people had promised to raise funds to place the insti- 
tution on a "high and permanent basis," and to in- 
crease the librarx', "with the privilege of constant ac- 
cess by the students to a choice miscellaneous list of 
4,000 volumes, in the same building where the school 
will be conducted." He adds "The village to which 
we have removed is much larger and more pleasant 
than Ballston, containing six or eight flourishing Liter- 
ary Institutions, of which four are Female Semin- 
.-iries." There was indeed an attraction worth men- 
tioning. 

In reference to these six or eight Literary Institu- 
tions I find the following schools advertised in Under- 
bill's directory for 1856-7 : The Dutchess County Acad- 
emy. William IMcGeorge, principal ; The Poughkeepsie 
Female Collegiate Institute, comer of Mill and Cath- 
erine Streets, C. H. P. McLellan, principal; Cottage 
llill Seminary for Young Ladies, Prof. M. P. Jewett, 
.v. ^I., principal : Bisbee's High School for boys, cor- 
ner of Mill and Hamilton Streets ; Mansion Square Fe- 
male Institute, corner of Mansion and Catherine 
Streets "adjoining 'Primrose Green' or 'Pirookside,' " 
Mrs. II. W. l'.li\en, princiiial. The same schools ap- 
]iear in tlie director}- for 18^10, with the exception of 
Bisbee's. The Female Collegiate Institute had in the 
meantime doubled the size of its Iniilcling. CMis I'.is- 
bee had cmne to Poughkeepsie several \ears befnre to 
teach for Charles Bartlett. on College llill. and had 
also taught for Eliphaz Fay before starting a school 
of his own. In 1S57. when Mr. Bartlett died, Mr. Bis- 
bee sdld his school on Hamilton Street to George W. 
McLellan, and went into partnership with Charles 
1!. Warring to conduct the College Hill school. Mr. 
^TcLellan soon afterwards gave up the school started 
by Mr. Bisbee, and became the first principal of the 
"Free Academy," or High School, opened about 1859 
in the old Church Street School building. G. M. 
Wilber was at this time principal of the grammar 
school on Alill Street, with Hannah Camaeh as first 
assistant. 



David E. Bartlett was conducting a school for 
deaf mutes, in 1859-60, at what is now the Bech 
place, north of Poughkeepsie, the present house in- 
cluding part of the former scIkjoI building. "The 
school," sa}s the advertisement, "consi.sts of two depart- 
ments ; one for deaf mute chiklren, the other hearing 
and speaking children — particularly brothers and sis- 
ters of the little deaf mutes whose parents wish them 
associated in education." There was hardly demand 
enough for such a school to make it a permanent 
success. 

The Poughkeepsie Female Academy was not ad- 
vertising at this time. Jacob C. Tooker died in 1856 
and the school was conducted by his widow until 1859, 
when it came into the control of Rev. D. G. Wright. 



/ 






*. 


W^ 


* 



for a long time one of the notable school proprietors 
and teachers of the city. 

The Law Schiiol expanded greatly during the years 
before the war. and many of its students were from the 
South, .\mong its distinguished graduates was L. B. 
McEnery. one of the present United States Senators 
from Louisiana. Other prominent graduates were 
Hon. I). F. Hanchette, of Wisconsin, Judge George 
\'an Iloesen, of Xew York. L\<\. Clark E. Carr, of 
Illinois. Hon. P.. Piatt Carjienter, Hon. Edward Els- 
worth, Hon. Mark D. Wilber and Robert Sanford. of 
Poughkeepsie. Judge Conkling, of Utica, father of 
Roscoe Conkling, and Judge Henry Booth, of Chi- 
cago, were among the professors of Common Law- 
and Practice, and Matthew Hale was one of the pro- 
fessors of Pleadings, Evidence and Code Practice. 

When Abraham Tomlinson decamped with most of 



Ki6 



HISTORY OF POUCH K /• EPSIE 



the collection of curios and documents that had con- 
stituted "The Poughkeepsie Museum," the Law School 
added his rooms in the Library HuililiuL;- to those al- 
ready occupied. I have seen no record to show just 
when Tomlinson left. He was still here in 1855 when 
he published "The Military Journal of Two Private 
Soldiers — '^7i'^-^7~^-" with a partial catalogue of ar- 
ticles and manuscripts in the nniseum. Apparently 
the first magic lantern shows in Poughkeepsie were 
given by him about 1852. His institution was con- 
sidered of so nnich educational value that the board 
of supervisors was once urged to make an appropria- 
tion to enable him to preserve "the relics of the county, 
about man)- of which cluster so many historical asso- 
ciations." He did "preserve" some of these relics, 
taking them all away with him, even the documents 
and articles loaned to him. 

\Mien the beginning of the war crippled the State 
and National Law School a still more important edu- 
cational institution was already started in the same 
building. Llarvey Ci. Eastman, born at Marshall, 
Oneida Count}', in 1832, had been a teacher in a 
commercial school conducted l)y his uncle at Roches- 
ter, and the proprietor of schools founded by himself 
in Oswego. X. Y., and St. Louis. AIo.. before the 
reputation of Poughkeepsie as an educational centre 
induced him to try his fortune here. His advertising 
elsewhere had been so extensive, before he had ar- 
rived here, that Postmaster George P. Pelton was in 
much wnndorniont at the great pile of letters that had 
accumulated for a man totally unknown. In October, 
185c), Mr. Eastman inserted the fi)lliiwing adveriise- 
nient, fnur inches single cohinm, in the 1 N )Uglikeepsie 
papers: 






en 



Parents anil GuardlaDS 



Circulars of ihe Commercial College which will open in 
the Library Building in this city, on Wedneiitlay, Nov. 
and, can be had at the Bookstores. News Rooms and this 
olllcc. This College has been established at Oswego, N. Y. 
and St. Louis, Mo., for eight years, and we asU the atten- 
tion of citizens to the report of prominent men. Lecturers 
and patrons given in the Circular 

It will be open for both L.mjies and Gknti.kmen. es- 
tablished as a permanent School of instruction In the prac- 
tical and useful arts of life. 

A new system of Instruction will be introduced into 
the lio<>l;k('(;ping and Penmanship department, combining 
Theory and Practice. 

MK. lOASTMAN will give his undivided attention to 
this College, and his published Works on Bookkeeping, 
Success in Business, Money and Life. &c., may be had at 
the College Offlce in the Library Building, after Nov. 2nd. 

Young men from abroad will address, for Pamphlets 
and Circulars 

H. U. EASTMAN, 

Poughkeepsie, N. Y. 



Mr. Eastman's enterprise started on a ver\- small 
scale in a mom which he had rented for 75 cents a 
week. .\ii(lrew Houston, of i'.ellevale. < )range 
County, was the first student, and in November, 1890, 
he visited the college and told the students his experi- 
ence.' When he first came here with his father in the 
fall of 1859, ^'id enquired for Eastman College, no one 
had heard of such an institution, but by good fortune 
they happened to meet Mr. Eastman at the Poughkeep- 
sie Hotel, where they had gone for dinner. Houston 
describes the room in which the "College" began as 
"in what was then the Library Building on N'assar 
Street. This room was approached through a long, 
dark alley, running between the Library Building and 
the Jewish Synagogue." His memory is certainly at 
fault here, for there was no "Library Building" on 
\'assar Street, nor was there anv "long, dark alley" 
between the Jewish Synagogue and the next building. 
For three days Houston worked alone with Mr. liast- 
nian as the sole instructor, "then Prof. George Fred 
Davis came in with another student by the name 
of George L. Root, of Oneida County * "' * and 
in about a month the college numbered some twenty 
students," 

Mr. Eastman was a man of great ability and en- 
ergy, full of enthusiasm for whatever he under- 
took, an enthusiasm that was contagious. He was a 
very clever and liberal advertiser, and in his scheme 
of teaching by actual business operations, tising notes, 
bills and a fractional currency of some real value, he 
had an idea worth developing — it was the beginning 
of the educational idea we have recently been hearing 
much of under the title, "Learning by doing," One 
(if his chief advertising plans from the start was to 
bring to the college men of the highest reputation 
as lecturers, and in fact he had been virtually com- 
]jelled to leave St. Louis because his lecture course 
there included several anti-slavery agitators, such as 
Joshua R. Giddings, Gerritt Smith. Charles Sunnier 
and Elihu l^>urritt. In the spring of 1860 he left his 
small rooms in the Library Building and opened the 
school in the old Congregational Church, corner of 
Mill and X'assar vStreets. 

Founding of Vassar Colleof:. 

In ])revious chapters .something has been shown of 
the rise of Matthew N'assar to the ]:)ossession of a 
fortune. He was one of the few men. activel\- inter- 
ested in the enterprises before 1837. who was not 
ruined by the panic. In fact he was in a position to 
purchase at his own figures what others were com- 

'The Eastman Journal. December, 1890. 



HISTORY OF P O U G H K E n P S I 11 



ItJI 



pelled to part with, and a considerable part of his 
fortune was made by taking advantage of such op- 
portunities. Though a hard-headed, shrewd bargainer 
he was more than a mere money maker, and from 
the beginning of his prosperity became a liberal con- 
tributor to the Baptist Church and various local char- 
itable enterprises. Having no children he began at a 
comparatively early age to consider plans for leaving 
most of his fortune to found some institution. In 
April, 1845, leaving his business to the management 
of his nephews, Matthew \'assar, Jr.. and John Guy 
\'assar, he sailed for England in the packet ship .Xortli- 
umberland antl remained abroad nearly Uu"ec years, 
with Cyrus Swan as guide and travelling companion.' 
Mr. Lossing relates that among the sights visited in 
London was a great hospital erected by Thomas Guy, 
a distant relative of the \'assars, and from this Mr. 
\'assar formed the idea of building a similar hospital 
in I'oughkeepsie. The changing of this idea in favor 
of an institution for the education of women has been 
credited partly to Miss Lydia Booth, his step-niece, 
who, as has been stated, was long a successful teacher 
and school proprietor in Poughkeepsie, and partly 
to Milo P. Jewett. Mr. \'assar owned "Cottage 
Hill," in Garden Street, while Miss Booth's school was 
there, and sold it in 1855 to Dr. Jewett. The \'assar 
College germ mav have been planted and nourished b\- 
these two. but Mr. X'assar certainly furnished a con- 
genial medium for its growth, lie was considerablx' 
interested in educational matters long before Dr. Jew- 
ett came to Poughkeepsie, as the following letter to 
Mr. Howland R. Sherman, of Poughkeepsie. Member 
of .\ssembly in 185 1, shows: 

PouGiiKEEi'SiiC, March loth, 1851. 
Howi..\Nr) R. v^iii:rm AX, Eso. 

Dear Sir : 

I understand a bill has been unanimously reported 
in your house ( Assembly ) by the Committee on Edu- 
cation to appropriate $50,000 to the University of 
Rochester, and as I am one of its earliest friends, and 
intend, at some future day, to extend my subscription 
I avail myself of the present opportunity to say that in 
my humble opinion the Rochester University as a 
matter of simple justice to Western Xew York, is en- 
titled to receive of the State appropriations for col- 
leges her share of the public funds. You may not be 
aware, perhaps, that in no instance in educational en- 
terprises of our State have any schemes been more 
liberally and jiromptly responded to by ])rivate con- 
tributions of the citizens than this institution, and if 
I mistake not the subscriptions atnount already to some 
$150,000 — to accomplish their whole plan will require 
about $75,000 more, and it would be a serious loss 

'"Vassar College and Its Founder" contains a detailed 
account of the trip. 



to the entire State sliould it now fail for the want 
of a timely and generous siqiport of the present Leg- 
islature. Will you and our friends, Alessrs. Teller 
and Robinson, e.xamini' into tlii' merits and claims of 
the institution and give it such support as it is justh- 
entitled to as a great jjublic measure. 

With my best regards to you and each of our re- 
spected representatives. 1 stibscribe myself, ^'oni 
Obedient Servant. 

^L \'ASSAR. 

Ibnvland 1\. Shi'rman. j ,. 

' I'.sqrs.. 

\ Albany. 



Wm. 1!. Teller, 
Cli. Robinson, 



Douljtless Dr. Jewett was instrumental in fostering 
the idea of a real college for women, "an institution 
that should be to their sex what Yale and Harvard 
are to our own." Several "Toadies" Collegiate Insti- 
tutes" had already been founded in various parts of 
the country, and Mr. \"assar soon perceived that the 
time was ripe for something better. He sought the 
advice of some of the leading educators of the coun- 
try, and Thomas .\. Tefift, an eminent school architect, 
was asked to ])repare plans for buildings to accommo- 
date four hundred pu])ils. This ajipears to have been 
in 1856, according to Mr, Lossing, but it was not 
until the spring of i860 that Mr. \'assar fina'.lv deter- 
mined to proceed with the work. Dr. Jewett sold the 
Cottage Hill pro|)erty at the close of the summer term, 
that he might give iiis whole time to the plans for the 
proposed college. A ch;irter was drawn up by Cyrus 
Swan, and was ]3assed by the Legislature January i8th, 
i86i, beginning as follows; 

Skctiox L Matthew X'assar, Ira Harris, William 
Kell}-, James IIar]ier, Martin P.. .\nderson. John 
Thompson. Edward Lathrop, Charles W, Swift, E. L. 
Magoon, S. M. Buckingham. Milo P. Jewett, Xathan 
liishop, Matthew \'assar, Jr., Benson J. Lossing, E. 
(t. Robinson. Samuel F. 15. Morse, S. S. Constant, 
John Guy \'assar, William Hague, Rufus Babcock, 
Cornelius DuBois. John H. Raymond, Morgan L. 
Smith, Cyrus Swan, George W. Sterling, George T. 
Pierce, Smith Sheldon, Joseph C. Doughty, and A. L. 
.Mien, are hereby constituted a body corporate, bv the 
name of "\"assar Female College," to be located in 
Dutchess County, near the city of Poughkeepsie. Bv 
that name the said corporation shall have perpettial 
succession, with jjower to fill vacancies, etc. 

The college charter, we are told, attracted the 
greatest attention, and tlie legislative reporters of the 
principal daily newspa])ers ".sent abroad from the Capi- 
tol the most glowing details of the novel and magnifi- 
cent enterprise." John 11. Ketcham was our represen- 
tative in the Senate, and John B, Dutcher and Samuel J. 
Farnum were the Dutchess County Members of As- 
sembly. The bill went through both houses in ad- 
vance of others and was "the first or second bill of that 



168 



HISTORY OF POUGHKBBPSIB 



session that ri'ct-ived the sitjnaturc of the Governor, 
Edwin D. r^Iorgan." 

Of the twenty-eiglit persons chosen by Mr. X'assar 
as the first trustees, Mr. Lossing says, "One-half of 
them were his fellow-townsmen ; and it so happened 
that a majority of them were Baptists, some of whom 
were leading clergymen and i)ublic educators of that 
denomination. This was an accidental result of his 
choice, occurring because Mr. \'assar's principal as- 
sociates among men of learning were of that branch 
of the Christian Church." The board of trustees was 
organized February 26th, 1861, at a meeting held at 
the Gregory House, with Hon. William Kell\-, of 
Rhinebeck. who had been Democratic candidate for 
Governor against Edwin D. Morgan, chairman. Mr. 
X'assar formally turned over to the trustees a box con- 
taining $400,000 in securities, including a deed for 
two hundred acres of land as a site for the college, 
and made a memorable statement of his plans, in which 
he used the words which Hon. George William Curtis 
said at the twenty-fifth anniversary, "might well be 
carved in gold over the entrance to X'assar College." 

"It occurred to me that woman, having received 
from her Creator the same intellectual constitution as 
man, has the same right as man to intellectual culture 
and development." 

The funds were placed in the hands of Matthew 
Vassar Jr.. who was elected treasurer, and ^Nlilo P. 
Jewett was chosen the first jiresident. Newspaper ac- 
counts show that the i)lans were i)retty thoroughly 
matured, not only for the buildings, but also for the 
equipment. I'lans for the main building, drawn 1)\- 
James Renwick, Jr..' architect of the Smithsonian In- 
stitute, Washington, were before the trustees at their 
organization and were acce])ted. .\n executive commit- 
tee, Charles W. Swift, Matthew \'assar, Cornelius 
Du Hois, Matthew \'assar, Jr., and Cyrus Swan, was 
apiJointcd, and also committees on "f;iculty and siuil- 
ies," "library," "cabinet and apparatus," "art gallery," 
etc. Contracts were soon entered into with Mr. Ren- 
wick and with William Harloe, of I'oughkeei)sie. for 
the erection of tlie buildings. The site had l)een se- 
lecti-d. Mr. l.ossing tells us, after due consideration 
of tin- achaiilages of a location on the hanks of the 
river. The l(\rl section of the colk'gc groiuuls, ad- 
joining the highway (R:i\innnd .\venue), \\;is once 
the Dutchess County R.'ue Course, 

Mr, \'assar formallv "broki.- ground" Juiu' 4th, 
1861. and the spade full of e.'irth be lifted is jireserved 
in the college museum. This was just at the begin- 
ning of the civil war, which caused a great deprecia- 
iMr. Tefift, the first architect selected, had died in Europe. 



tion in the value of the securities of the college and 
also caused a great rise in the price of building ma- 
terials and labor, but at the close of the war the se- 
curities had risen again and the endowment fund was 
intact. Mr. Harloe, the contractor, however, was not 
so fortunate, and though the contract was finally taken 
off his hands without enforcement of penalty, he claim- 
ed to have lost $30,000. The main building was fin- 
ished at the close of the war, but had been long in 
construction because of the extraordinary precautions 
to ensure a substantial structure as nearly fire-proof as 
the architects of the day could make it. Brick parti- 
tions were carried to the roof and it was required that 
the walls should stand a certain length of time to set- 
tle. The observatory was finished at about the same 
time as the main building, and the riding school or 
gymnasium (now the museum) a few months later. 

Sports — B.\sE Ball, Ice Yachtinx. 

It has been stated that a part of the \'assar College 
grounds were once the Dutchess County Race Course. 
The track had been in that locality since 1798^ at 
least, but there is said to have been an older race 
course on Main Street. In the days of running races, 
before trotting came into vogue, there was probably 
nic:ire interest in horses among Poughkeepsians than 
there is now., though I think the town was never as 
thoroughly devoted to this form of sport as soine other 
places. There were some famous races, however, on 
the old track. 

Poughkeepsie has been chiefly noted, in the sport- 
ing line, as a centre of rowing and ice yachting. The 
ice yacht, in fact, first came into existence here as a 
racing craft, and was made known to the world 
through the reports of the early races of the Pough- 
keepsie Ice Yacht Club. Zadock Southwick is said 
to b.ue Iniilt the first ice boat not long after he came 
here ( 1807). but there is no evidence that the sport 
was of much consequence imtil just before the war. 
The first boats were set upon skates for runners and 
were small, clumsy affairs, the principal frame work 
being a tri:mgle of 13 foot joists with .-i centre timber 
into which the mast was steppeil. The N'assar I'.rew- 
erv ofiice was the club house whert' all tlie river 
s])ortsnu'n gathered to discuss matters and p.nrtake of 
Mr, Booth's si)ecially brewed ale. .Mxnit 1858 the 
])ossibilities of the develo])nunt of the skate-boats was 
ijnder consideration among the brewery coterie, and 
(|xperiments of various kinds were tried with steel 
gunners, heavy and light centre timbers and various 

(Juts of sails. George Polk and Jacob Buckhout were 

4 -_ 

'See 1798 map, frontispiece. 




MATTHEW VASSAR. 



J TO 



HISTORY OF POUCH KEEPS IE 



among the men who worked out the plans, and the lat- 
ter became the creator of the modern ice \aclu. The 
PonsjhkcciJsie Ice Yacht Cluh was driianizril in iShi, 
the charier members l)ein^ ( )li\cr II. r.cDih, Aamn 
Innis. John A. Rdnscvelt, Thecidnrc \'. Jnhnslon, Theo- 
d..re Van Kleeck. William C. Arnold. Ihidsnn Tay- 
lor. II. ('.. Kaslman. j. Iv I'liickhoul, Walter \ an 
Kleeck. I lenry S. Frdsl. Jnhn R. .'~;tn\ \csaiit. This 





-r^ 




/ 


\ 


> 


^ 


tp 






'■^^^^K'^S' 


.> fP-lJH 




mmJMm. 



•DI.IX'I'R II. liOoTH. 

a])parentl\- was the tirst formal organization of the 
sport, and it was only after this organization that iti'ms 
ai)i)ear in the newspapers about ice yachts. cxccjU verv 
rarely. 

Ice yachting in the early days was not i)articularlv 
expensive, but as the rivalry created by the races 
stimulated imi)rovcmenls, the ex])enses naturally in- 
creased. The s])ort has been at its best on an average 
only two or three weeks each winter, but I'nughkeep- 
sie is a iietter loeation for it th;in main ]ilaces 
further Udrlb because winter rains and thaws can gen- 
erally be clcpendi'd npnn tci rt'mow snow frcim the 
river. l)i]wn Id a recent ju'rinil all local races were 
held in front of the city, but with the advent of a more 
powerful ferry, keeping an o|)eii track, the headquar- 
ters were transferred hrst to |obn A. Roosevelt's, 
about three miles north, and then |i> Ihde I'.ark. The 
leading rivals in the ])eriod of the IVjughkeepsie ('lnb'< 



supremacy were John A. Roosevelt and Aaron Tunis, 
whose "Icicle" and "Haze." as remodelled after the 
■■Robert ,'<cott" abeiut 18S4, have not been very greatly 
im]iroved upon. 

.Most of the same men who fonui-il the first ice- 
\acht clul) were interested in rowing, which had been 
a popular means of recreation at I'oughkeepsie for 
many \ears. Before 1837 there was a local four- 
oared crew known as the Washingtons, who entered 
races with Xewburgh and other river towns, and at- 
tracted considerable newspaper notice. Large crowds 
attendetl liiese races, which seem to have been of a 
si.-ini-])rofessional nature. There were a good manv 
am.'iteur scrub races, ])urel_\' for fun, during the jjcriod 
just before and just after the war. 

Interest in rowing was greatly stimulated in 1860 
by a two-days regatta held at I'oughkeepsie, Sept. 5th 
and fith. .Arrangements for this event were started 
at a public meeting held at the City Hall August 4th, 
at which Samuel J. Farnum [^resided. The following 
ward committees were appointed to solicit funds: 
I'irst Ward — Nelson J. T^ardee. vS. J. Farmnu ; Second 
Ward— James T. Hill. C. C. Iloff: Third ^\■ard— Wil- 
liam .\. l'";inuing. John R. Cooper; l''ourth Ward — 
lleur\ W. Shaw lJo>h I'.il'ingsi. I'.dward I'ost. There 
were all sorts of events al the regatta, single and 
double scull races, fours and sixes. The course was 
five miles, two .-md a half milis \i]) the river from .Kaal 
Roek and return. ■■Joslf W .ird was one of the U'ad 
iug oarsmen and the favorite in single sculls, biU was 
bad'y luaten. The great race of the first day was 
the six-oared, in which Xewburgh was entered against 
I'oughkeepsie, and was bt'aten. in spite of the fad 
that Josh Ward rowed with .Vewbnrgh. The victor- 
ifius Poughkeci)sie cri'w was: Willi.-im Stevens. John 
liest, Ezekiel Rcneway. I louu'r Wooden. IXiuiel l,eRo\- 
and Madison Eagan. The time was 3_' :40. The four- 
oarecl I'ace, the second d.ay. again occasioned great ex- 
citement. Thri'e crews were entered, representing 
I'oughkeepsie. .Xewburgh and llrooklxn. The I'ough- 
keepsie crew.whicii won in ^-Vlo.was 1 lonu-r Wooden. 
William Stevens, Ezekiel l'>enewa\- and John Rest, .and 
tlu' Xewburgh crew. Dennis T^eary. John I'.iglin, 
J;uues I'ligliu and I'.c-ru.ai'il Riglin. called the liiglm 
crew. Thousands of pee)i)le came to I 'oughkee])sie 
to si'e this regatta, and the Eoi^lc said of it : '■( )ne dav 
with its eNciteuH'Uts would do very well, but two d,-i\s 
for a (|uiet town like I'oughkeepsie was rather too 
nnich." 

Tlu' roughkee]isie crews had been organized chielh- 
from among men employed in the cooperages and were 
backed hea\ily by local sportsmen. George Polk m;ide 
for them the first spoon oars used at this ]i!ace. The 



HISTORY OF P O U G H K R E P S I E 



171 



four-oarcd crew at a later peril m1 mwed in a Imat 
called "The Stran,t;er," and came In ])e known as 
"The Strano'er Vww." The excitement nf the iSdu 
rejyatta, with its crowd of ])rofessi(iiial ^amhlers and 
toughs, was small indeed compared with that which at- 
tended the tinal I'ace of "The Stran-ers," July iSili, 
1865, with the l'.i,s;lins. who then represented New 
York. The 1 'ont;hkeeiisie crew was the same as that 
at the i860 regatta, except that William Burger had 
taken the place of John Best. The course was the 
same, two and one-half nii'es and retiu'n, and the 
race was for a jjurse of $6,000 and the cham])ionship 
of America, .\ccording to news]iai)ei' accounts, this 
memorahle e\ent hronght ten thousand people to 
Pouglikeejjsie. and ;is much as $100,000 was wagered 
on the result. 

The New ^■o)■k men led at the start, hut on the 
home stretch the roughkeepsie crew gained and at- 
tempted to pass them. Excitement ran high, and the 
Biglins steered their hoat so as to head off the Stran- 
ger and so finished first. The 1 'oughkeepsie crew and 
all who had money wagered upon its success claimed a 
fold, ;md the decision rested upon the referee, Ch.arles 
(lausm.m, wlno witli the judges, were driven at once 
to the 1 'oughkeepsie Hotel and attempted to get into 
a room hy themselves. The late Isaac 11. \\'ood, last 
proprietor of the I'.xchange House, was one of the 
judges. 

".\s they entered the room crowds of thugs and 
roughs pressed in .after them, and they .also crawle<l 
into the room through the windows. The apartment 
was packed to sufi'ocation with as nuu'derous a set of 
villains as the eye ever gazed u|)on, who at once be- 
gan to intimidate the referee, and jiistols, knives and 
clubs were drawn, joe Coburn, who was then a fa- 
moiis prize fighter, had l)et heavily on the Pouglikec])- 
sie crew ;md sli.ak'ing his ponderous fist at the referee 
and ci'owd \elled, '1 want a fair thing! You can't 
nuu'der us here! It is a fair foul and I can lick any 
of you single lianded I" There were cries of 'Slioot 
him!' "(live up tlie money!' and even 'Fire the Hotel!' 
Gausman at length decided that the New Yorkers had 
won in 37 minutes 20 seconds, and bareh- escaped with 
his life, an experience shared by some of the stake 
holders. For two days and nights the city was filled 
with desperate thieves and pickpockets, and the night 
before the race Tlmmas L. Davies' residence was 
rolibed of $5,000 worth of jewelry."' 

The day after the race vStcvens of the roughkee]isie 
crew, while in a down-town saloon, knocked down and 
killed a man named Thomas DeMott, who had ac- 
cused him of selling the race. 

The history of this event illustrates well the rough- 
ness of the times. On everv such occasion, and even at 



lEagle, April 29, 18 



many elections, the crowd owned the town, and 
drunkenness and street fights were more than common, 
i'he city ])i)lice did not alt.iin an efficiency sufficient to 
stoj) street fights until well into the '70s. 

I'.ase ball as ;m organized s])ort l)egan in 1 'ough- 
keepsie in iS5(). when Jose])h II. Cogswell canu- here 
as an agent of the Rochester nurseries. I le bad been 
a mendx'r of the "Flour City Hall Club." .and pro- 
ceeded to form a similar club here. Tile roughkeep- 
sie Base Hall Club, in strong contrast with the pres- 
ent clubs. a|ipears to liave been strictly- an amateur or- 
ganization, perhaps the first amateur athletic club in 
the city, and comjjarable with the golf and ti-nnis clubs 
of to-day. The members played ball for fun and ex- 
ercise, paid initiation fees and dues as at other clubs, 
and the rules jirovided for the choosing of sides as 
nearly t'(|ual as ])ossilile when enough members came 
u])on the field for a game. .\ "first nine" was made 
u|i of the best players .and occasionalK' met outside 
teams in match games. The first of these "first nines" 
was as follows: .\. V. landley, p.. Ivlwin Marsb.all, 
c. J. H. Cogswell. 1st b.. J.ihn Trowbridge. 2nd b., 
Aaron Innis, ,^rd b., Ivlwaid \ incent. s. s.. C. 1'. 
Lansing, 1. f., \. ( ). Chichester, c. f., S. H. Conklin. 
r. f. ( )tlier ch.arter members of the club, as given in 
the interesting little pamphlet of "Constitution and By- 
Laws with Rules and Regulations," published by Os- 
borne & Ixillex in T850, were James C. Aikin, George 
vS. Birown. J. C. Biabcock. 1!. S. Biroas. (^icorge H. 
I'.eattys. \\u\. Collingwood. 1',. Piatt Carpenter, A. H. 
Champlin. ( )scar A. Fowler, ^birgan L. Farnum. 
James LLaggerty, William Highet. J. A. Jillson. Iv B. 
Killey. D. R. Norman. M. 1!. Osborne, George H. 
Parker. Charles Place, Charles C. Peters, John C. 
Payne, Henry W. Shaw, Edward Storm, Cyrus Swan. 
Charles Towle, Isaac Tompkins, Hiram W. Wood, 
George S. Wilson and Charles H. S. Williams. 

The "Rules and Regulations" contain nnich that 
would interest base ball players, but it is enough to 
note here that the game was substantiallv the same as 
that of to-day, except that the ball was "pitched." not 
thrown to the liatter. and a third strike or a foid was 
"out" if caught on the first bound. The base brdl 
field was between Main and Cannon Streets, opposite 
where the power bouse of the electric street railroad 
now stands. The newspapers of i860 contain several 
reports of games played with Newburgh and other 
places. 

r'oi.iTics Before the War. 

When the great question of slavery became of 
paramount importance there was the same readjust- 
ment of political lines in Dutchess County as else- 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEBPSIE 



wIktc ill the Xcirtli. The "soft slu-U" Democrats first 
li^'canu' tlic (Iniiiinaiit factitin and then lust niany of 
tliiir nicinljcrs to the new Re])ul)lican parly. Tlie 
"hards'" ceased to he important enous^h to support a 
ne\vs])aper in 1856, when the Pcmacrat was consoh- 
dated with the Tclciirapli, Mr. ( )siK)rnc forming a 
partnersliip with Egbert B. Killey. Jr. In 1852, how- 
ever, the county went Democratic lj\- a small luajority, 
Franklin Pierce obtaining 105 mure votes than Gen- 
eral Winfield Scott, while Ibjratio Seymixu" for gov- 
ernor had a majority of ijcj. (iilbert Dean, a promi- 
nent Poughkeepsie lawyer, was elected to a second term 
in Congress at this time, but resigned in 1854, and 
was appointed to fill the vacancy in the Supreme 
Court caused by the death of Seward Barculo, who 
had been a Justice in the second district since June 
/th. 1847. Barculo was one of the great Poughkeep- 
sie lawxers. and was first elected county judge in 
1S45. in which office he was followed by .Abraham 
Bockee. 

In 1854 when there were four party candidates 
for governor the vote of Dutchess was: Alyron H. 
Clark (Whig) 3.411, Horatio Seymour ("soft" Dem.) 
3,150, Daniel Ullnian (American or "Know Nothing") 
1,849, Green C. Bronson ("hard" Dem.) 724. Pough- 
keepsie city gave Clark 818, Seymour 532, Ullman 215 
and Bronson 78. On Assemblymen the two Demo- 
cratic factions combined and elected their rnen, the 
Whig candidates being handicapped, as many persons 
thought, by their pK-dge to sup|)ort a prohil)itor\- litpior 
law. There w;is nnieh more about ])n)hibition in the 
newspapers of that day than there is now. but its ad- 
vocates wore generall}- called "Maine Law" men. 
Tiiey had carried the Second .\sseml)ly District in 
1853, electing (>eorge W. Sterling to the .Assembly. 
.A big meeting for "Freedom and Prohibition" was 
held in the city hall in Jul\. 1833. There were also 
some Abolitionists in Ponghkeepsie, but 1 have seen 
no record to show that they had an organization. 
George W. Sterling was in full sympatln with tluMu, 
and is generally credited with having been an officer 
of "the underground railroad." The .\bolilionists iiad 
no local organ and were generally denounced b\ the 
party papers. 

Theodorus Gregory was one of the leading i)rohi- 
bition advocates of this time. For several years after 
his purchase of the Eastern House he conducted it as 
an ordinary country tavern, selling li(|uor. and filling 
up with gambU'rs on liorse racing days. Then lu' 
was converted and became a temiierance man. lie 
was told that lu' could not nm a boti'l without a bar, 
but he decided to try and w;is successful. Tlu- old 
F'astern House burned in .March. 18^3. ;uid the new 



Imilding. finished in the s|)ring of I1S34. was ojjened 
as the Gregory House. It became, of course, the 
best hotel in the city, far surpassing the Forbus House 
and Ponghkeepsie Hotel, but Mr. Cregory conducted 
it as a temperance house, and a'so had family prayers 
every day in the parlors, and grace before meals in 
the dining room. The hotel was sold after the war to 
George Morgan, and became the Morgan House. 
James Bowne was another leading temperance man. 
Some years before this time the old firm of I'xnvne S: 
Trowbridge sold a great deal of liquor, and Mr. 
Bowne signalized his conversion by knocking in the 
heads of the rum barrels and spilling the contents 
into the gutter. 

In 1855 the Republican party was organized in 
Dutchess County and formally consolidated with the 
Whigs, the parties holding a joint convention at 
Emigh's Hotel, Washington Hollow, on the 17th of 
( )ctober. The Whig county committee was John H. 
Ketchani, Smith Cronk, J. A. Underbill, C. Swan, Ed- 
gar Thorn, Edwin Hall, Edward Flunting, D. C. 
Marshall and George W. Paine. Thirty-seven names 
w^ere signed to the Republican call, headed bv .A. J. 
Cofifin, George A an Kleeck and Cornelius Du Bois. 
Most of the names seem to be those of former Whigs, 
though some were Free Soil Democrats. The\' in- 
cluded Isaac Tice, Wm. C. Southwick, E. M. .Ar- 
nold, Aaron Frost, Wm. S. Morgan, John Thompson, 
Augustus L. Allen, Richard Kenworthy, Lsaac Sisson, 
Stei>hen P.aker, .A. A'an Kleeck, E. M. Swift. 1 lenry 
W. .Mon'is. James vS. Post and Charles E. Bowne. 

lu the fall of 1853 .'"'"i ''■ Ketcham was first 
elected to the Assembly, and the Republicans were 
also successful in the 3rd district, electing Jacob B. 
Carpenter, but in the _'nd. including the city of Pough- 
keejjsie, George Wilkinson was defeated In Daniel O. 
\\'ard, of Plea.sant \'alley. 

The |]residential campaign of 183(1 \\;is a notable 
one in I'oughkeei)sie, on account of the great public 
meetings held on I'orbus I lill. The Demoer;its held 
;i great r;i!l\' for Puchanan on ( )ctober 1st. to which 
it is s.aid llfteen stv'amboats ran e.xeursions. .\niasa 
J. Parker, candidate for gt)vernor, was the chief 
speaker. The crowd on this occasion, tliongh large, 
is said lu have been far ecliiised by the l'"i'emoiit rally 
of the river counties on the i'>th, at which I Ion. Charles 
11. Ruggles presiiK'cI. b'rom i; o'clock in the nKJrning 
initil after noon there was almost a continuous |)roces- 
sion of teams anil of horsemen conn'ng in froni the 
country, "until the town was full." says the I'.ai^Ic. 
The r.ailroad, the steamers ( Iregon, from Albany, 
South America from Iludson, and Thomas Powell 
from .\ew ^'ork. added thousands. \Mien the delega- 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 



173 



tions from neighljoring counties niarclicd from the 
steamers, tlie horsemen from the coimtry were (h'awn 
up in close order, facing the street, and extended from 
the Exchange House to Hamilton Street. There were 
800 of them, it is said. In the great open field consti- 
tuting Forbus Hill four stands had been erected, and 
there was continuous speaking from each one for more 
than three hours. From the principal stancl, around 
which there were seats, Senator Henry Wilson, of 
Massachusetts, spoke for two and one-half hours, and 
was followed by Joseph Hoxie, of New ^'ork, for one 
hour. .\t the central stand, for which no seats had 
l.ieen proxided, Governor Ford, (jf ( )hiii, spoke two 
hours, and Joseph Blunt, of New York, an hour and 
a half. \t other stands there were five German speak- 
ers. The Rhinebeck Glee Club, the Albany Glee Club, 
Messrs. Sherwood and Cone, of .Mbany, and Mr. 
.\thert"n, of Ponghkeepsie, furnished music. The 
county ga\e Fremont 5,512 votes, Buchanan 4,o3(;. and 
Fillmore 2.01 _^. John Thompson was elected to Con- 
gress, and jolm II. Ketcham returned to the Assem- 
bly, though l)y a majority of only one vote, over Al- 
bert Emans. The second district elected Franklin 
Dudley to the Assembly. The city voted Fremont 
i.ijo, lluchanan 656, and Fillmore 318. li. Piatt Car- 
penter began his political career soon after this, and 
became District Attorney in 1858, succeeding Silas 
Wodell. 

The Ha^^lc containetl many stn.ing anti-slaverv edi- 
torials at this time, and the "dough faces," as well as 
the "slaveocracy" w'ere vigorouslv denounced. It was 
an ardent supporter of \\'illiam II. v'^eward for tbe 
presidential nomination in i860, and Isaac Piatt, in a 
letter dated Chicago, May 26th, describes the methods 
by which Seward was defeated in the convention, and 
expresses his opinion of those who coml)ined against 
him very freely, adding: 

"I'.ut while 1 feel bound to say tliest" harsli things 
of the active enemies of Senator Seward, and feel that 
even more severe language would fail to do them jus- 
tice, it would be doing a great wrong to the majorit\- 
of the ct)nvention if I failed to add that the choice 
fell u])on the next best man that could have been se- 
lected. The very last one wdiom the poltroons of 
Pennsylvania, and Indiana and the sneaks of New 
England — who could have rendered Mr. Seward's 
nomination certain had they been true — would have 
fallen back upon was Mr. Lincoln, had they had an\- 
thing but 1 lobson's choice in the matter." 

The camp;iign of i860 was a memoralile one 
everywhere, and not long after the nomination of Lin- 
eciln and 1 lamlin. Republican marching clubs calleil 
"\\ ide .\wakes" were organized all over the North. 



The Ponghkeepsie club was organized in Jul\- with 
John Trowbridge president, William C. .\rnold, C. 
C. Iloilf, James McKinne\- and j. W. NinceiU vice- 
presidents; George II. Beatlys, recording secretary; 
Davis \ an Kleck, corresponding secretar\-, and John 
T. Banker, treasurer. Daniel li. Turner was elected 
captain at a subsequent meeting, and Robert b". Ta\- 
lor lieutenant. There was also a Lincoln and I laniliu 
Club, of which J. W W. Doty was president. The 
chief Democratic marching clubs were called "The 
Little Giants," from Stephen A. Douglas's favorite 
nickname. In Ponghkeepsie Benjamin Atkins was 
their captain, and both he and Turner were officers 
in the Twenty-first Regiment. Party feeling ran so 
high that stones were sometimes thrown at the parad- 
ers in hostile wards, but the two captains were friends. 
The Wide Awakes had their headcjuarters in the base- 
ment under Rowdand's bakery, opposite the end of 
Market Street, and it is related that on one occasion 
when they had just returned from a parade and were 
storing away their torches and capes, the order came 
to turn out again. They hurried up the steps, and 
there were the Little Giants coming down the street. 
Some of the boys thought there were prospects of a 
fight, but "Dan" Turner lined them all up along the 
curb, and as their opponents approached gave the or(U-r 
"Present torches," and then "Three cheers for Ben 
Atkins and the Little Giants!" The order was prompt- 
ly obeyed and the Little Giants returned the courtesy. 
After that it is said there was never any trouble be- 
tween the two organizations. Occasionally they would 
meet on parade, when one would open order and al- 
low the other to march between them, presenting 
torches. 

The Bell and Everett men also had a marching club 
which paraded around ringing a large bell obtained 
from one of the foundries. In general this campaign 
is described by those who rememlier it as the greatest 
on record, with scimething gniug cm almost every ilay 
for several months. The Wide .\wakes and Little 
Giants often visited other cities to take ])art in i)ar;ides 
there 

The Rei)nblicans held ;i great meeting on Forbus 
Hill, October 19th. which was addressed in the after- 
noon for two hours by 1 Ion. Salmon P. Chase, of ( )hiii. 
Gen. Thomas L. Davies presided at this meeting, and 
the vice-presidents were : Hon. Charles H. Rnggles, 
\\'illiam C. Sterling, John G. Halstead, F. R. Johnston, 
J. Wesley Stark, Edward H. Simmons, Herrick 
Thorne, D. Lewis, James Winslow, Hon. Morgan Car- 
penter, George H. Knapp. James Ketcham, Iliram 
X'ail, Orson Graves, E. D. Sweet, C. White. The sec- 
retaries were: Alfred B. Smith, George Sweet, 



74 



II I S r O R y OF P O U G H K B E P S I E. 



George Lanior-ee, i'>. I'latt Cariiciilcr, R. D. Cornell, 
and James McCarthy. 

1 think this was the last great meeting on Forbns 
1 lill. Grand Street had been laid out across it several 
\ears before and building was beginning to encroach 
on the neighborhood so long devoted to circuses, poli- 
tical rallies and military reviews. At one time, before 
the railroad was built, there was a lookout back of the 
lH>rbus House, on which observers were stationed to 
watch for the coming of steamboats, so that the hotel 
stage could leave for the landing without running the 
risk of long waits. Many stories are told about events 
which took i)lace on Forbus Hill, but the ground has 
been so changed by grading and building that no one 
thinks of it now as a hill, apart from the general slope 
of the ground. 

The cit}' in i8Co was still to a considerable e.xtent 
divided into sections, with stretches of open fields be- 
tween. The Upper Landing and the Lower Landing- 
were rather isolated communities connected with the 
business section on the hill by a fringe of houses along 
Alill and L'nion Streets. I^ower ALiin Street consisted 
of "lilakesleeville," on the flat between Bridge and 
Clover Streets, with onl\' a few buildings immediately 
above or below, except at the landing. Then there 
were the suburban settlements of Freartowu, in the 
southern srcliim. Tioicetown, near the junction of 
Cherry v'^tixrl and I li inker Avenue, and Leetown, af- 
terwards Hull's I bad. now .Vrlington. ^Vor was For- 
bus 1 lill tile nnly hill named. Christian Hill, near 
I'ine Street, Crow llill, Soutli Hamilton Street, south 
of Montgomery, and others were familiar to the people 
of the day, and are still occasionally named. 

Many meetings were held throughout the county 
during this campaign, ancl the I'oughkcepsie Re])ubli- 
can speakers mentioned in the ]iapers were jdlin 
Thompson, William Wilkinson, Col. (k-orge Lisbee, 
J. Spencer Van Cleet, Charles II. S. Williams and 
John L Piatt. This was Mr. T'latt's entrance into poli- 
tics, and was ])robably not far fiom the lirsl appear- 
ance on the stump of most of the others n;nueil, except 
Mr. Thompson and Mr. Wilkinson. 

Dutchess County gave .Abraham Lincoln a majoritx 
of 692 over the Fusion (Douglas, llreckinridge and 
Tlell) Democratic ticket, ;nid in rouglikeciisie l.iiunln 
carried tlie 2n(l Ward 1)_\ iSj, tlu' 3rd by 28 ami the 
4t]i by 130, the 1st Ward alone going Democratic b\ 
57. Ste])hen liaker, of Poughkee])sic, was elected to 
Congress. 

Occasionally an item like the following, Se]Jt. Sth. 



1857, attracts attention in the local papers: "Free — 
It is said that a colored man recently passed through 
this place on the underground railroad, having made 
his escape from slavery in a Southern State. He is 
probably now enjoying freedom in Canada, under the 
protection of the Ilritish Queen." 

On Aug. 29, 1857, the Eagle tells of the breaking 
of the first Atlantic cable "after having paid out suc- 
cessfully 335 nautical miles of cable, and the last 100 
miles of it in water over two miles deep," In spite of 
the political agitation at home there was much interest 
in foreign news and the completion of the cable was 
awaited with eager anticipation. When it was ap- 
parently finished in 1858 all the bells in Poughkeepsie 
were rung in celebration of the event. Before the 
caljle foreign nev^^s was always headed "Three days 
later from Europe," "Four days later from Europe," 
or whatexer the interval was between steamers. After 
reading under this heading "There is nothing later 
from India" for several weeks, it is with something of 
a thrill lh;it one reads on Nov. 28, 1857, "Gen. Flave- 
lock with 2,500 men crossed the Ganges from Cawn- 
pore Sept. 19 and relieved Lucknow residency on the 
25th, just as it was ready to be bldwn up by the be- 
siegers." 

When the city was incorporated, both the Eagle 
and the 7V/i'c;''<'/'/' had planned to issue daih- papers, 
but \-eutures in that line had not been particularly suc- 
cessf\il. The first daily started had lasted but a short 
time, aucl the Press. withmU any well-established week- 
ly behind it, was struggling along with no very great 
profit to its publishers. The Tr/rt,'ri;/'/i tried the ex- 
])eriment of a daily edition for three weeks, begiiuiing 
Nov. 28, 1834, and iIkmi gave it u]!, while tlie Eagle 
found in the linaneial depression of that \iar ;i suffi- 
cient reason for the abandonment of its plans. In 
1S60, however, the city had a populatinu of .about 15,- 
OQO, and the interest in |iulilic e\eul,s. in the great is- 
sues which were snon to plunge the country into civil 
war. ;uid in local matti-rs. had greatly increased, and 
another daily was fully warranted. On Tuesday morn- 
ing, Di'cember 4th. \nl, 1 Xd. i nf i!ie Piiily Eagle 
was issueil. It bni-e the umtid, ".Xeutral in nothing," 
and its strong editnrials .and excellent telegr.aphic ser- 
vice soon gave it a conim.audiug poNilinn and an in- 
lluence that w.as luort- th.an Incal. Tlu' fUiily Press. 
which liad been ;i mnrniug paper n|i to this tiine, soon 
changed to an aflernonn p.aper. and so remained as 
long as it had a separate existence. 



CHAPTER IX. 



The Civil War — Early Meetings and Knllstmkxts — The i28th and 150TH Rkciments — The i^ijth 
Regiment and the Draft — Echoes of the Draft Riots — Home Events — Politics, Includim; 
the Campaign of 1S60 — Eastman College — The Return of Prosperity — The Sanitary Fair. 



The iK'ws of the firing upon Fort Sumter was pub- 
lislied on Saturday, April i_^th, iSdi, ami there was 
intense excitement in I'oughkeepsie as well as else- 
where. The liiv^U' issued "e.xtras" which were eagerh' 
snatclied from the press on Satm^day ex-ening and 
again on Sunday. ( )n the i5th President Lincoln's 
call for 75. Olio \oUmteers was puhlished. and on the 
same day a sm;dl item recorded that "Matthew \'as- 
sar, Jr. has tendered his fast sailing schooner, The 
.Matthew X'assar, jr., to the L'nited States govern- 
ment." ( )n the Kith ".Messrs. W. \\'. and J. Rey- 
nolds tendereil to the government their substantial and 
well arranged steamer Reliance." I'loth of these offers 
were acce])te(l. The Matthew N'assar, Jr. was one of 
Farragut's fleet of mortar boats at the taking of the 
forts at the mouth of the Mississi])pi River, and the 
Reliance' served as a gun boat in the Ilurnside expe- 
dition and also as a transport. The steamboats 
Dutchess from Alain Street Landing and Sherman 
from the Lower Landing were also sold to the go\'ern- 
ment. as were many other river steamers. 

April 17th there was a brief report in the local 
ixipers of a meeting of the 21st Regiment, with the 
statement, "We have ascertained that there are one 
humlred x'ohmleers ready to .answer the government's 
call." Loyal citizens everywhere began to displa}' the 
tlag in fnint of fluir homes and places of business, 
and we read that "jiolitical feelings arc fast disappear- 
ing in this city." ( )n the iSth a call for a meeting 
to be held at the L'it\ Hall for the |)urpose of organi;^- 
ing a volunteir compan\- was |iul)lished 1 iver the sig- 
natures of Jiihn R. Coii|ier, John 11. ( )tis, J. Spencer 
\an Cleef. James 11. Seaman and R. T\. Taylor. Gc- 
ronie Williams and .\.. U. Smith were among those 
who addres.sed this meeting, which resulted in a pre- 
liminary organization in the following form: 

"We hereby form ourselves into a volunteer com- 
pany to be offered to the Governor of this State for 



ipor list of Poughkeepsie men who went ont with the 
Reliance see Appendix. 



immediate service, under the provisiun^ ol the act 
laleh' jiassed by the Legislature of this State in refer- 
ence to the raising of a volunteer force." 

\])r\\ i8th, 1861. 

R. \\. Taylor, .Xathaniel I'almer, 

S. II. r.ogardus, Jr., .Alfred .\tkins, 

1'. J. Palmatier, John .Sanders. 

John LL llartlett. Joseph Williams, 

Herbert Stearns, John X. Longfield. 

John Cox, C. W. L'nderwood, 

.Vlfred Sherman, Isaac \'an Wagner, 

Benj. Slater, Daniel Johnson, Sr., 

Albert R. Heermance, Joseph Rosell, 

Cornelius Ferdon, .Martin Riggs, 

Nathaniel Gayton, D. 1!. Morris, 

George C. Smith. John Ward, 

Daniel Brinckerhoff, ^\■m. H. Clark, 

Marcus B. White, .\ndrew Holitzer, 

Wm. Conklin. .\. B. Smith. 

James \'>. Jones, Dewitt C. l^nderwood. 

jas. T. Clear, Patrick Akins, 

R. X. I'lush, Thomas Walker, 

1". Schwandel, [Jeitung Fedrick, 

Joseph Heidel, Carl llardenburgli, 

.\nson Morey, John 11. Filkins, 

F.dward I'ost, Patrick Whaleii, 

Thomas Eagan, Jas. Nicolson, 

Wm. L^ham, John H. Moreland. 

These did not all enter the st'rvice, but certainly 
all were willing to enlist, at least for three months. 
There was no dearth of \-olunteers under the first 
call, howe\'er, and as a rule only militia companies 
fully equipped, were accepted. The JOtll. of Kings- 
ten, enlisted fur three mnnlhs. and the fact that the 
2ist was not ri'ad\ to offer ilse'f caused some com- 
ment in which the si;iiemenl w as m;ide that the military 
spirit had no! been greallx cultivated in 1 'oughkee|isie. 
The independent company formed at the meeting of 
the i8tli went on to perfect its organization. On 
the 20th. when William Berry was made tem]iorary 
ca|)tain, there were se\ent\ -live names on the roll. 
On the 23rd the company was reorganized with Har- 
rison Ilalliday as captain, but was rather slow in get- 
ting reatlv to leave, and some of the bovs became im- 



I7(i 



History of poughkeepsiB 



patient. A few inanagcd to get into militia regiments 
already at the front ; these included James E. Schram, 
who sailed in the steamer ■"Daylight" on the 24tli to 
join the Seventh Regiment/ Alfred Way and Alfred 
Dunlap, who went out with the 13th of Brooklyn. 
Adam Schuster and Charles Couterier enlisted in the 
20th X. Y. \'ols., (the German Turner regiment) and 
April 24th the following men left Poughkeepsie to 
join them: Rudolph Schwickard, Rudolph Prellwitz, 
Joseph Mayer, Charles Solger, George Kahn, Adam 
Barthel, Charles Propson, Henry W. Kohn, Augustus 
Long, John Meyer, Gottsfried Kuhn, Nicholas Schop- 
pert, Andrew Simon, Reinhold Polieke, Henry Klages, 
Professor W. Sinnhold, Friedrich Blume, and Fried- 
rich Breitung. Most of these names are to be found 
on the published roll of Company D. Captain Joseph 
Otto. Couterier went as ensign and Sinnhold as first 
sergeant. The next day, April 25th,- Alfred Atkins. 
Stephen H. Bogardus, Daniel Brinckerhofif, C. Becker 
and Isaac \ an Wagner went to New York and en- 
listed in the 5th Regiment, Colonel Abrani Duryea's 
Zouaves. They were joined soon afterwards by 
William F. Boshart, Wm. H. Disbrow, Albert ( ). 
Chenev. James C. Albro, Cyrus Hagadorn, .\lphonzn 
C. Morgan, Joseph Tyndall, C. E. Dennis. D. S. 
Bradley, James W. Shurter, C. Jewell, A. Conover, 
James Van Wagner, W. Stall, H. Lyons, G. F. Law- 
rence. Godfrey Winzeureid and II. Stearns, •■* according 
to the newspapers of the day. Not all these names 
aiii)ear in the imperfect muster rolls published by the 
State, but some of them may lia\e joined after the 
roll, dated May <)th. was made up. William l)e (".mot 
and James Morissy, of Poughkeepsie. appear on the 
roll, but were not mentioned in the newspapers, and 
1 am informed^ that William F. Da\idson. James 
Denton, Michael Krieg, Isaac Blythe and Tlu-ron \'an 
Keuren were cerlainlx in the regimenl, though neither 
on the May 9th muster mil nor mentioned in the news- 
papers up to the time of the departure of the regiment 

lA letter describing the trip of the 7th to Annapolis, pul)- 
lished in Eagle May 2, signed "Brother George." seems 
to imply that other Poughkeepsians were in this regimenl. 

2Names in Eagle April 26. 

^Second list of 21 names in Eagle May 14. 

■♦Captain William F. Boshart has furnished nuich of this 
information. The failure of the contemporary newspaper 
lists, the muster rolls and the recollections of the veterans 
to agree is easily expl.iiiKtl. The new-paper lists indicate 
the supposed intentions of the men when they left Pough- 
keepsie. A few men when they reached New York joined 
other organizations, or did not enlist at all. The veterans 
naturally remember the men who were with them in camp or 
on the battlefield. The State muster rolls are imperfect any- 
way, containing only 60 or 70 privates in each company, and 
furnisliing no indication of later enlistments. 



for the front. The 5th was in active service early 
enough to take part in the battle of Big Bethel. \ an 
Keuren, Denton, Davidson and Hagadorn were killed 
in battle in 1862. 

Meanwhile there were stirring times at home. On 
Sunday, April 21st "Almost every clergyman in this 
^^^. * * * preached on the subject of the national 
crisis, calling upon the people to sustain the govern- 
ment as a sacred duty." < )n the lyth a call was pub- 
lished over the signature of several hundred men 
for a mass meeting in Pine Hall, then but recently 
comj^leted on the site of the old Franklin House, and 
the leading i)lace for lectures, meetings and theatrical 
performances in the city. The meeting was held on 
the evening of the 24th, Hon. James Emott presiding, 
and among those named as vice-presidents were sev- 
eral prominent Democrats, including Edward B. Os- 
borne, then editor of the Telegraph, Judge Charles H. 
Ruggles, James H. Weeks, and Hon. William Kelley 
of Rhinebeck. Rev. Francis B. Wheeler, of the Pres- 
byterian Church, opened the meeting with prayer, and 
stated that "The ministers of the Church are with you 
in their sympathies and if need be will mingle their 
blood with yours in defense of the right." There were 
addresses by Judge Emott. Hon. Wm. Kelley, Hon. 
George W. Sterling, Homer .\. Xelson (then county 
judge), Hon. John Thompson, Hon. George T. 
Pierce, Joseph F. Barnard, Rev. F. D. Brown, Rev. 
Samuel Buel, of Ciirist Church, and Rev. M. Wakeley. 
Charles Wheaton, who became county judge when 
Judge Nelson was elected to Congress in 1862, was 
chairman of the committee which prepared a series of 
strongly patriotic resolutions, including the following: 

Resolved, That no effort is too severe, no contest 
too long, no ex])enditure too great, that will put down 
and crush out, now and for all time, an armed resist- 
ance to the authority of the Constitution, the Laws 
and the chosen Officers of the Government. 

.\ resolution was also ])assed. on motion of Charles 
W. Swift, asking the Cc^nunon Council to Inirrow 
$10,000 on the creilit of the city, the money to be 
]>laced in the hands of ;i committee of five "for the 
relief ancl snp|i(irt of the families and dependents" of 
those whn enlisted in the arniw .Ma\or James 
llowne. Gains C. l'>mii;ip, Di". I'er Lee Pint', James H. 
Weeks and Edgar M. \'an KK'eck were named as the 
committee. The Conuiion Coimcil carried out this 
stiggestion, and the finid was supplemented' by many 
contributions from the citizens. .\ few davs later the 
ladies began to organize for the purpose of making 



'The girls of Dr. Rider's School (Cottage 
Street) raised $75 for tliis fund by a concert. 



ilill. Garden 



History of poughkeepsib. 



177 



shirts and other clothing for the soUHers, many of 
whom were in sorry condition, government suppHes 
proving entirely inadequate. In May the Woman's 
Relief Association was organized, with Mrs. John 
Thompson president, and }^Irs. Henry L. Yonng sec- 
retary. 

Man\- of tile men who first volunteered were mem- 
hers of the fire ci^nnpanies, and Cataract \'o. 4, A. J. 
\'alentiue, fnreman. at a special meeting. April 25th, 
offered its services in connection with the Jlst Uegi- 



2(1 Corporal — John R. Brockway. 
3d Corporal — AIoiizo Case. 
4tli Corporal — I'Vauk C. iMiik. 




CHARLES WHEATON 

ment. Captain Halliday, meanwhile was enlisting 
most of the members of old Protection. Colonel \\'il- 
liam Berry was appointed mustering officer, and the 
company went into barracks in the old .Methodist 
Church (afterwards ICastman College) <in the jSth. 
anil on the 4tli of May left town for Albany, to be- 
come Company E of the 30th New Yi irk X'olunteers, 
commanded by Col. Edward Frisbie. The following 
were given as its members at this time : 

Captain — Harrison Holliday. 
Lieutenant — Edgar S. Jennings. 
Ensign — Nathaniel Palmer. 
1st Sergeant — .-Mfred Sherman. 
2d Sergeant — Joseph D. Williams. 
3d Sergeant — Nathaniel Gayton. 
4th Sergeant — John C. Ecker. 
1st Corporal — Marcus L. White. 



-Vdams, John Q. 

.^kins, Patrick 

Allen, Egbert D. 

Baker, Chas. 

Bartlett. John Vl. 
*Beals, Elijah 
*Burns, Hugh 

Bush, Robt. M. 
*Buys, George 

Cambot, Wm. 

Case, Chas. II. 

Clark, Wm. 11. 

Cummings, James 

Dahn, Joseph H. 

Daley, James 

Davis, Ferris 

Decker. Robt. G. 
■=DeGroot, Wm. H. 

Dixon, Jacob B. 
*Downs, Alme 

Dusenbury, Jno. W. 

Egan, Fergus 
*Ferguson, Uriah L. 

Gilman, Wm. G. 

Gladdin, Geo. 

Hall, Chas. W. H. 
-Harrington, John 

Heidel, Joseph 
■'Hemingway, John 
*Henderson, Hugh 

Hennance, Albert R 

Hicks, .\ndre\v L. 

Hogan, Martel 

Holthizer, Andrew 

Hunt, Chas. A. 
*Hyde, Edwin M. 

Jay, Clairck M. 

Jones, Wm. D. 

Kinderburg, C. F. 

Kip. Daniel 

Kip, Wm. H. 

Kirby, Stephen M 

Lake, James L. 

Lake, Wm. D. 
*McFarland, Wm. 



W. 



AIcKcnna, Mitchell 

Morris, David G, B. 

Morey, Anson 

Myrich, Geo. 

Murphy, James 

Moseley, Ben. F. 

Marshall, Moses 
♦Marshall, John R. 

McCord, Jno. D. 
*McIntyre, Chas. 

Nicholson, James 
*Odell, James W. 
*01droyd, Job 

Ostrom, Wm. H. 

Palmatier, Peter J. 
*Palmatier, Wm. G. 

Price, Chas. 

Rowlands, Nelson I 
♦Roberts, John 

Rosell, Josepli 
*Rider, James B. 

Riggs, Martin 

Rogers, Charles 

Stanton, Coles 

Schmadel, Ferdinand 

Stickels, Edward 
*Sprague, Wm. 

Sanders, John 

Smith, Geo. C. 

Slater, Benj. F. 

Storms, Everett 

Sleight, John 

Tuill, John 

Underwood, George 

Walker, Thomas 

Weaver, Chas. E. 
♦Wright, Wm. K. 

Whalcn, Patrick 11. 

Ward, John 
*Wakeman, Norman 
*Wright, Will. H. 

Williams, Louis H. 
'Wilbur. Wm. 11. 

Welsh, Mitchell 

White, Wm. T. 



This was the first ruughkeepsie company, and was 
mustered into the L'nited States service June isl and 
left for the front June 28tli. The names marked with 
a star in the above list do not appear in the muster 
rolls, but some of them are found on the rolls of 
other regiments. A few were deserters, of whom the 
government took little notice at this time, as recruits 
were offering faster than they could be accepted ; 
others probably did imt pass the medical officers, and 
still others on account of illness were not able to go 
with the company. L'. L. Ferguson, for instance, was 



178 



HISTORY OF r U G H K E E P S 1 E . 



in tlic hospital at Alliany uIk-u the Cdinpany left, lie 
came hack home and enlisted in the 57th New York 
Regiment, Company K of which was largely recruited 
in I'oiighkeepsie. si\ty-t\\o names heing on its roll 
from this city. Win. 11. Ue Croot. William Spragiie 
and James Ritling ( ? ) are also on the roll of the 
37th, which went into the L'nitetl States service Sep- 
temhtr 4th. Long before this time, recruiting offices 
for the many regiments had been opened in Pough- 
keepsie. One of the first of these was opened about 
April 24th in Market Street, in the interest of Colonel 
James IT. \'an Allen's regiment of Rangers, one of 
the earliest \olunteer cavalry regiments to enter the 
service, though according to the muster rolls of this 
regiment, the 3rd, no enlistments were made before Au- 
gust, and none are recorded frnni 1 '(inghkee];)sie. Un- 
til after the call for 400.000 troops that followed the 
IJattle of Bull Run, liranch de]Kils for enlistments were 
not authorized by ('.o\ernor Morgan, and the early 
muster-rolls show only the places of rendezvous. 

During Aiay local ]uitriotism was manifested in 
Hag raisings and in meetings throughout the counts-. 



I3l;5 

',L<il3 

lit) 




^0m: 



Conwr of Main anil Market Streets in iS6/, s/i07t'iiix'' Liberty 
Pole, PoHghkeepsie Hotel and old Morris Ilnildini; . 
(From Lossing's I'assar College and its Founder.) 

Benson J. Lossing w;is a fre(|uent s])eaker at these 
meetings, and contril)Ute(l a series of signed articles 
to the newspa]X'rs uiuler such he;idings as "The I'nioii 
and the Constitution Shall hi- I 'reser\ (.'d." ( )n the 
lOth of May a liberty pole at the junction of Clover 
and Main Streets, "in front of Thoiuas Clegg's store," 
was raised with a])])ropriale ceremony and speeches. 
That night some one stole the flag from this ]iole and 
buried it in the river weighted with stones, whence it 
was pulled up by some boys who were fishing a day or 
two later. There was general comjilaint of the steal- 



ing of Hags froiu jirivate residences, ap])arently the 
work of "copi)erlu-ads." A notable flag raising took 
place at St. Peter's Church on Saturday evening, May 
iSth. "There was an immense crowd present," says 
the liiiiilc. "'i'he Jackson Republican C.uard and 
I'oughkeepsie Grenadiers turned out lo do hunor to 
the occasion. The flag w-as raised b\ Rev. Mr. Rior- 
dan, and saluted by 34 guns. .Addresses were made 
by Rev. y\r. Riordan. Benson J. Lossing and Mark 
1). W'ilber." ( )n the _'8th the tall mast in the centre 
of Market Street at the junction with Main was ready 
for its flag, wdiich was hoisted by ( ). II. B(xith "aiuid 
the cheers of the multitude, and the roar (jf camion, 
the citv band playing the Star Spangled Banner." 
Rev. Moses T\ler, of the Congregational Church, af- 
terwards a professor at Cornell University, opened tlie 
exercises with prayer, and there were speeches by 
Mayor Bowiie. Judge l'',mott. Rev. .Michael Riordan. 
William Wilkinson, .\llard -\nthony and Rev. C. 1'. 
Kettell. 

Before Captain llalliday's comp.'uiy had left town 
a call had been issued for the formation of another 
company, to be ready when wanted, and a militar\ 
organization was formed under cdiiimand of John 
P. Adriance, called at first the I'oughkeepsie Drill 
C.n;irds, afterwards the "Ellsworth Greys." This 
comi)an\- drilled so frequently and with so much en- 
thusiasm that its services were much in demand lor 
exhibitions of military art and tactics. ;ind many of its 
nimibers entered the ;irmy at a somewhat later period 
■is officers. It did not. however, \(ilunteer as ;ui or- 
g;inization. and the s^'cond I'oughkeepsie C<impany 
w.is raised b\ Arthur Wilkinson, who issued his first 
.dl May _'<)lh for from seveiitx -five to diie hundred 
men "to be ,-|lt:irlied to Col(,nel George B. I LiU's b'.x- 
celsioi- Regiment." .\uy man who could enlist a com- 
|i,'m\ could nlitain a commission as its captain at this 
lime, .itid Wilkinson had about sixty men enrolled in 
IweUe days. Thi-y left town on the b;irge Republic 
on June loth, and were escorted lo the landing by tbi' 
l'onghkee])sie Drill Corps. ;md about J.ooo citizens. 
The company was ofiicered ;is follows: 

Captain — .\rthur Wilkinson. 

1st Lieut. — Chas. Jackson. 

_'d Lieut. — .\lbert Jolin.son. 

I St Sergeant — Matthew llarloe. 

2(1 Sergeant — James T^. Frazier. 

3d Sergeant — Benj. W. Murgatroyd. 

4th Sergeant — layman P. Harris. 

3tli Sergeant — Ivlward Pardee. 

1st Corporal — John P. liroas. 

2(1 Corpora! — Isaac \ . Bloomfield. 

3d Corporal — Josei)h Conn. 

4lh Corporal- John 11. Mead. 




i)u. R. K. Trrmi.L. 

[For bioiimpJiica/ .U-rMi sty .-Ippiin/i. 



I.) 



HISTORY OF p o u G H K n n p s I n 



181 



On arrival at Camp Scott, Slatcn lslan<l, where 
the coinijany was to he attached to llie 74th l\ei;iiiieiil, 
(lissciisioiis at once arose. A])])arently Wilkinson ilid 
not have enongh men to ohtain his commission as cap- 
tain and offered to "sell them out" to another comiiany 
in which he was to become first lieutenant. This was 
not an uncommon practice later in the war. liut it ex- 
cited great indignation at the time, especially among 
the men who had been promised the lieutenancies by 
Wilkinson before he left Poughkecpsie. Charles 
Jackson, Albert Johnson, ^latthew Ilarjoeand 1'. ller- 
rick came home, and on July loth winte a comnumica- 
tiou to the local pajiers, stating that "they learned 
they were being used as tools to elevate the ambition 
of one who would sacrifice every man for self-eleva- 
tion," that "the position of First Lieutenant was sol- 
emnly promised to five different men," etc. Fourteen 
men signed an answer to this which was published on 
the 20th charging that the "broken and dismissed lieu- 
tenants" had entered into a conspiracy to break up the 
company. Whatever the truth of these charges and 
counter charges* the company was effectually broken 
up, and of the names given in the newsjiapers at the 
time they left Poughkecpsie scarcely one is to be 
found on the roll of "Captain Arthur Wilkinson's com- 
pany" in the 74th. One of the men went into the 
Duryea Zouaves, 5th Regiment, then at Fortress Mon- 
roe ; six or eight enlisted in the 62nd Regiment. An- 
derson's Zouaves; at least four entereil the '^>5th Regi- 
ment, known as Chasseurs, then forming at i'alace 
Carden, 14th Street: and one or two names from the 
company are to be found on the rolls of the 70th. 71st 
and other regiments, while some of the men came 
home, and did not enter the service until a later period, 
if at all. 

Poughkecpsie names are scattered through so many 
different regiments that it appears impossiljle to col- 
lect them all, and some, it is said, went into otlier 
states to enlist. Following is a list of organizations 
in which there were Poughkeepsie enlistments during 
the year 1 861, as shown by comparisons of contempo- 
rary references with the muster rolls. 

20th Regiment (Turner Reg.) N. Y. "Vols., Col, 
Max Weber. Seventeen from Poughkeepsie in Co. D. 

=;th Regiment (Col. Durvea's Zouaves.) 

30th X. Y. Vols., Co. E.. Capt. Halliday. 

47th ; Col. Henry ^loore, forty men in Co. D on 
muster rolls from Dutchess County. 

48th X. Y. Vols., Col. James FT. Perry, two men 
from Poughkeepsie, one of whom, David Johnson, is 
on orisfinal roll of Co. D. 



'See Daily Eagle, May 4, 1904, for summary of charges 
and names of men in company. 



53rd Regiment ( D'Kpineuil's Zouaves) eleven men 
from Poughkeepsie in Co. D, Captain George L. 
Chester, two in Co. 1 1. 

57th Re.giment ( Ramsey's \oltiguers) si.xty-five 
men from Poughkeepsie in Co. K. Captain La \'allie, 
and two or three in other companies. 

6ist Regt. (Clinton Guards), Col. S. \\'. Cone. 

62nd Regt. (Anderson's Zouaves). 

65th Regiment (ist Regiment Chasseurs) five men 
from Poughkeepsie in Co. D. 

70th Regiment (ist Excelsior), two from Pough- 
keepsie in Co. G, Captain M. I!. ( )'Reiny. 

71st Regiment, Col. George I!. Hall, Richard G. 
Shurter in Co. G, Daniel Malady, and some others 
credited to other places, but probably from Poughkeep- 
sie. 

74th Regiment. Col. Charles K. Graham, C'a])t;iin 
Arthur Wilkinson's comiianx' (Co. I) mentioned, ap- 
parently with <ine or two other Poughkeepsie names 
in it. 

78th Regiment, Col. Daniel Ullman, two men from 
Poughkeepsie. 

Soth Regiment (the 20th Militia of Kingston.) 

87th Regiment, Col. Stephen A. Dodge, nine from 
Poughkeepsie in Co. (j, Capt. E. B. Coombs. Also 
fifteen men in Co. F, Ca])i. John II. Stone. 

91st Regiment, Col. Jacob \^an Zandt. one from 
Poughkeepsie in Capt. C. A. Burt's company. 

This is doubtless not a complete list by au\- means. 
Thirty men left Poughkeepsie September 24, 1861, to 
join Capt. Cromwell's ist Xew York Cavalry. 

Most of these regiments had only one or two origi- 
nal enlistments from Poughkee])sie, except as already 
noted of the 5th. },nih and 57th. The 80th also took 
out a consideral)le mnnber of men from Poughkeepsie. 
including most of the commissioned officers of two 
companies. This regiment was the 20th, or I'^lster 
County Militia, and recruited for service during the 
remainder of the war in September and October after 
returning from service under the three months call. 
Dr. Robert K. Tuthill went as assistant surgeon, ancl 
Theodore \'an Kleeck as sergeant-major. In Com- 
pany A. the commissioned officers, James Smith, C. 
S. Wilkinson and Joseph IT. Harrison and nearly half 
of the non-commissioned officers were from Pough- 
keepsie; also the First Lieutenant of Co. B, John R. 
Leslie, the First Lieutenant of Co. E, Albert S. Pease 
and the two lieutenants of Co. IT, Ely R. Dobbs and 
Alartin H. Swartwout. The lieutenants of Co. E re- 
signed soon after the regiment had gone to the front, 
and Theodore \'an Kleeck became for a time second 
lieutenant of this com]iany. This regiment spent a 
da\- in Poughkeepsie before .going to the front. It 
was in considerable hard fighting and lost many men. 
All of those wdio went as officers from Poughkeepsie 
had been members of the Elsworth Grevs. 



182 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE 



Thk 12ST11 Rkgimknt.' 

After the call for 300,000 troops in June, 1862, the 
State was divided into military districts, corresponding 
generallv with the Senate districts, and the Cnvernor 
appointed Ihin. William Kelly, of Uhineheck. and 
Isaac Piatt, of I'oughkeepsie, a conmiittee, with power 
to add to their numher, to begin the work of organiz- 
ing a regiment. The Dutchess County members of this 
committee when it met on Jtily 17th in Poughkeepsie 
were Hon. William Kel'y, chairman. James Emott, 
James IT. Weeks, Isaac Piatt, John C. Cruger, J. F. 
I'.arnard. C. W. Swift. 11. .\. Xclson. J. II. Ketcham 
II. II. llustis, Albert Kmans. J. I'.. Diitcher, J. P.. 
Carpenter. Pi-nson J. Pnssing. John S. Thorne. John 
II. ( )lis, Isaac W". White. William S. Johnston, Gilbert 
Dean, .\. Wager. 11. II. Sincerl)ox. Joel Benton, 
Richard Peck, William Chamberlain, Henry Staats and 
Herrick Thorne. "At that meeting Mr. Wager pre- 
sented the request of P. Chichester, of Poughkeepsie, 
to be enrolled as the first recruit." 

A few da\s later George Parker, l-'rank N. Ster- 
ling, S. C. Doty and Robert F. Wilkinson opened of- 
fices for the enlistment of recruits, the first three join- 
ing forces. John A. \'an Keuren. Dewitt C. Under- 
wood and John I'. Wilkinson also opened a recruit- 
ing office. Tlu' quiil.-i of Poughkeepsie under the call 
of Tulv 2, 1862, was 22J men, and the early enthusiasm 
for enlistment had begun to wear off. IHg meetings 
were again held throughout the connty to stir the 
people u]' and local bonnties were beginning to 
be offered at first frmn mone\ raised liy subscription. 
.\t a large meeting in I'ine Hall, .\ugust 12th, Judge 
Emott stated that he was autlic:)rized to jjresent $10 to 
each of the first five recruits who enlisted that night. 
Before this C. \\'. Swift. James I'.mott. C.eorge funis. 
W. Vassar, Jr., and .\. \'an Kleeck had iilaced in the 
hands of the committee $100 to be jiaid the first cap- 
tain mustered into service from this county, $75 to the 
second captain, $50 to the third and $25 to the fourth. 
This was, of course, to stimulate effort on the part 
fif those who expected cimimissions ;is ,a reward for 
obtaining a certain number of men. The regiment 
was nearly completed b\ the middle of August and 
was mustered into the Pnited States service on Sep- 
tember 4th, as the 12S1I1 X. Y. \'olunteers. Co. D, 
the officers of which were George Parker, captain : 
Francis N. Sterling. 1st lieutenant: S])encer C, Doty, 
2n(l lieutenant, and .\rnout Cannon, Jr., ist sergeant, 
was more than half from Poughkeepsie; Co, H, of 
which John A. Van Keuren was cajitain, a little less 

iTlne history of this rcKimciit, vvrillrii liy Rev. D. H. 
IlannabiirKh, was published in 1894. 



than half: and Co. I. of which Robert F. Wilkinson 
was ca])tain. Fred Wilkinson. 1st lieutenant, and John 
P. W ilkinsiin. jnd lieutenant, was wholly enlisted here, 
while a few I'onghkeepsie names are found in other 
com)ianies. The ladies of Poughkeepsie ;md l-'islikill 
preseiited the regiment with a handsome flag .August 
30th at Hudson, and the regiment left for the seat of 
war on the steamer Oregon, September 5th, At their 
first important battle, the assault upon Port Hudson, 
oil the Mississippi in May, 1863, Col. David S, 
Cow'es (of Pludson) was killed, and Lieut. -Ci il. James 
Smith.' of Poughkeepsie, took command. The losses 
of the regiment as reported July Oth, i8')3, were 24 
killed, most of them at Port Hudson, 62 died of dis- 
ease, 2 died of wounds, jj ilischarged for disability, 
'') missing and Ciz deserted. The 128th was in many 
hard fights and returned with only 500 men. 

Till-; 150T11 RkgimKn'T, 

Under the call of .Vngust 4 a draft was threatened 
miless quotas were filled, and on August 22nd the 
Board of Supervisors, at the suggestion of the war 
committee, authorized the County Treasurer to burrow 
enough mone\- to pay a Ijounty of $50 to e\iry \olnn- 
teer who hail enlisted since July 2nd, or who should 
tlu-reafter enlist, ])rovided he had not already received 
au\- bountv from the conntw Tiiev also resolved that 
the war committee be requested to take immediate 
stejis for the organization of a Dutchess County Regi- 
ment, so that the couutx's full quota of ironies could 
be raised without a draft, and that night .\lfred B. 
Smith went to Albany ami obt;iiued the vi-(|nired per- 
mission from tlu' Governor. The cmmittee. August 
26111, .selected lb>u. John II. Ketcham for mlonel. Al- 
fred P.. Smith, m.-ijor. George R. Gayloi-d, (piarter- 
master and William Tiicmpson, adjutant. This regi- 
ment, which became the 1 50tli, was therefore well 
started before the I28lh was com])'ete. Joseph II. 
Cogswell. Robert McConnell. Henry .\. GilcU'rsleeve. 
I'.dward .\. Wickcs, Edward Crummey, Benjamin S. 
r.ro.as, William R. Woodin, .Andrus Brant and John 
1,. Green, were given penuission to open recruiting 
oft'ces, and all except Mr. Crummey, whose place was 
taken by Piatt AI. Thorne, became captains in tlic regi- 
ment. The first six mentioned were from Poughkeep- 
sie, C.a|it;iiu Woddin at that time being a resident of 
I'ine I'Lains, r.r.inl was from Dover Plains, and Green 
fn.m Red H.M.k. 

Great eft'orts were made to secure enlistments for 
this re.giment as rapidly as possible, September 3rd 

'Tliis was the same James vSmith who had gone out as a 
captain in tlic 80th, ITc had been a law student in Judge 
Nelson's office. 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE 



is;', 



Mayor Bowne recommended that all places of business 
be closed each afternoon of that week at 4 o'clock, 
"ami llial the people use all efforts to promote cnlist- 
nuiUs, and also to meet the exigencies of the times." 
War uKitings were held everv nii;ht at the City I Fall. 
aiKJ nil the 17th General Corcoran addressed a great 
(i|)('ii air meeting from a platform i.'iX'Ctrd du the east 
side of tile Court House. September 8th the ladies 
nut .iiid a]ipninled the following committee to raise a 
lund 111 ]ini\ick' the regiment with a stand of eujnrs: 
Mrs. .^ewanl I'.areulo, Airs. James I'.m.ill, Mrs. Wil- 
liam Sehrain. Mrs. W. v^. .Morgan. .Mrs. W. 11. 
Crosby, Mrs. J. Winslow. .Mrs. W. J. Lossing, .Mrs. T. 




/ /\)iig/i/ccrpsic. 



I,. 1 )avies, Mrs. John Thompson, Mrs. Charles II. 
Ruggies and Miss Sarah M. Carpenter. By the jnth 
of September 780 men had been collected at Camp 
nutehess, which was establisheil on the old connty 
house grounds, now the grounds of the (.'ity Home. 
As the regiment began to assume sonu> proficiency in 
drilling under the charge of Lieut. -Colonel iiartlett, 
who was from \\'est Point, the town people assembled 
at the camp in considerable numbers ever\- afternoon 
to witness battalion drill and dress jjarade. During 
the last few days before the de])arture for the front 
most of the local commissioned officers were presented 
with swords by various groups of citizens. Major 
A. B. Smith's sword was presented at the High School, 
in Church Street, In- Mr. George W. McLellan, in be- 



half of the children of the public schools ; Captain 
Cogswell's sword was presented at the Congregational 
Church on Sunday evening, October 5th: Captain V.. 
X. Wickes received a similar gift from the voung 
ladies of Mr. Rice's .clioo], .-md ,,,1 the loth Rev. [). 
C. Wright, in behalf of the pn|)ils ,,{ ibe Poughkeepsie 
]''einale .\cademy, presented (.'a])tain llenr\ A. (".il 
dersleeve with "a most splendid s\-,(ir(l, sash, belt .-md 
liislol." ,\ r.ibU' agent visited the e,-mi|) just before 
the departure of the regiment and il is rrlaled tli;il 
.Xew 'I\'stamenls were accejited li\ e\er\ m;in not 
otherwise supplied e.\ce]it two. Tlu' regiment left on 
the llth of ( )elober on the steamer ( )regon. 'riiomas 
1",. \ assar went out as the lirst eha|il;u'n of this regi- 
ment, and was sueeeedeil the iu-\t year In Kew l'",d- 
ward ( ». Partlelt. whose diary of the daily exents has 
lieen published in the liai^lc. The regiment was at 
( '.etlysburg, where se\en of its men were killed and 
twent\-t\\() wounded.' In ihe f;ill of 1863 it was .sent 
to Tennessee, but did not take l>art in any of the great 
battles there. In the campaign against Atlanta the 
150th held im|)orlaut ])ositions at Resaca and at Kene- 
saw .Mountain against superior forces, and it was 
with Sherman on the famous march to the sea, but was 
rarely in a desperate assatdt or exposed to the terrible 
ordeals that cut some regiments to pieces, and lost 
comparativelx- few of its nflicers or men. Much of 
its immunity is ascribed b\- the survivors to the care 
of Colonel Ketcham in pro\iding protection whenever 
it was to be found. 

( tf its original ofheers Cvrus S. Roberts, sergeant 
major; Henry C. .^mith, quartermaster sergeant. Lieu- 
tenants Albert Johnson, Robert C. Tripp, DeWitt C. 
I'nderwood, Charles J. (^laylord, besides those alreadv 
mentioned, were from Poughkeepsie. 

Till' i5in'ii A.\i) Till-: First Dr.\fts. 

In the effort to avoid a draft, as soon as the 150th 
Regiment was a certaint\. and before the 128th had 
reached the seat of war, steps were taken to form a 
second district regiment. Judge Homer A. Nelson 
was appointed its colonel, with .\rthur Wilkinson, who 
had resigned his comim'ssiem in the 74th, as military 
instructor, and Mark 1). Wilber quartermaster. P.y 
the middle of < )ctober. i.^'ij. some 500 men had been 
collected at lludsou from Columbia Count\- alone, 
and more than 100 hadi been enlisted in Dutchess, 
though the 150th had ]iriity well drained the countv. 
While the regiment was forming Ju<lge Nelson ac- 
cepted the Democratic nomination for Congress, and 
on his election resigned his commission as colonel. 

'Letter of Tliomas E. Vassar in Daily Eagle, July 10, 





HKS-.v ^ 






^'■r^ 






W 


^C-yvcc,. 









Hon. HOMlvR A. X1-:L.S0N. 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEBPSin 



185 



The regiment failed to complete its organization, hut 
most of the men enlisted became members of the 
159th Regiment, mustered in November ist, under 
command of Colonel Edward S. Molineux, of Urook- 
lyn. jiilin W. Shields raised almut half of Company 
1 in I'uughkeepsie, and went as its h'irst Lieutenant. 
This regiment was at Port Hudson with the uStli. 

By the enlistments in the 150th and through pay- 
ment of increasing bounties the draft was postponed 
until Mondax', September 7th. iS6_^. Isaac Piatt had 
been appointed Provost Marshal, and William Pinck- 
ney enrolling officer for the Pirst and Third Wards 
of Poughkeepsie, with John Winslow for the Second 
and Fourth. The enrollment in the city, the quota of 
the wards and the number drafted was as follows : 

Enrollment. Quota. Drafted. 

First and Second Wards 847 157 235 

Second and I'durth \\'ar(ls, . . .607 116 175 

The difference between the quotas and the number 
drafted is explained by the fact that 50 per cent, was 
aikled for ]-)robable exemptions. The draft took place 
at Xo. 7 L'nion Street, now ])art of the Post Office 
property, and the sheriffs of Columbia and Dutchess, 
tile Mayors of Poughkeepsie and Hudson, and a com- 
mittee of prominent members of both political parties, 
were present to see that fairness was done. Nine 
companies of the Second Vermont Regiment, which 
had been on duty at the Draft Riots in New York 
City, had arrived in Poughkeepsie that morning, and 
were asseinbled on Market Street, though their pres- 
ence is said not to have been due so much to appre- 
hension of trouble here, as to a desire to quarter them 
for a time near New York. They occupied the bar- 
racks erected for the 150th, and remained until the 
iJth, when they were relieved by the 5th Wisconsin 
Regiment. They were certainly not needed, for the 
draft passed off without a sign of disturbance. 

Patrick Whalen, a blind man, drew the numbers 
from a big tin wheel, and Peter Shuster, of Mill 
Street, was the first man drawn for Poughkeepsie. 
There was a great crowd in Phiion Street, which re- 
ceived the names good-naturedly and with much ban- 
ter, especiall\' when two clerks from the Provost 
Marshal's office were drawn. The draft took men 
from each of the printing offices, and in the Shurter 
family four brothers were drawn, although one of 
them had but recently returned from two years' ser- 
vice with the 30th. Of the total number drafted a 
very large proportion were exempted under the law, 
and most of the rest furnished substitutes or paid 
commutation. Only one actually entered the army 
from this cit_\'. The draft nevertheless was very un- 



popidar and amused much criticism. The chief local 
evils connected with it were the saiue as those of the 
bounty system. A gang of toughs appeared, to offer 
their services as substitutes with the intention of tak- 
ing the money and then escajjing, to play the same 
game elsewhere. On September 16th a man who gave 
his name as William Duffy was arrested at the "Sol- 
diers' Rest,"' for offering ^yo and then $200 to the 
guard to let him escape. He was found to have a 
large roll of raised and counterfeit greenbacks in his 
possession in addition to the money he had received 
from a well known resident of Poughkeepsie to enlist 
as a substitute. Men enrolled at this time and after- 
wards had to be closely guarded and even then "bounty 
jumpers" sometimes got away in squads. 

In order to avoid a draft under the next call for 
troops the Sujiervisors resolved to tax the county 
$250,000 for bounty money, and in December, 1863, 
the united National, State and County bounties amount- 
ed to $690 for each new recruit and $865 for each vet- 
eran. The colored men of Poughkeepsie had organ- 
ized a company during the summer and a number of 
them enlisted at this time. The city in 1864 also of- 
fered large bounties and enlistments were so general 
that Poughkeepsie escaped the drafts of May 31st, 
which, however, affected twelve of the towns of 
Dutchess County, and was followed by two or three 
supplemental drafts to supjjly deficiencies caused by 
exemptions. In 1864 William S. Johnston was Pro- 
vost Marshall, with his office in the Armory building 
on Main Street. He held several drafts for small de- 
ficiencies in various towns, but none affecting Pough- 
keepsie until March 20th, 1865, when the city's defi- 
ciency was 175. The men who enlisted during the 
last part of the war were scattered in many regiments 
to fill vacancies. The nearest approach to a company 
raised here after the 159th went out was just about 
the time of the draft in September, 1863. when a large 
part of Company E of the 192nd Regiment enlisted 
under Stephen H. Bogardus as captain. During the 
war the city sold bonds amounting to $284,100 to pay 
bounties, and also $10,000 for the relief of soldiers' 
families. 

EciioKs III' TiiF. Dr.m't Riots — TIomk Evknts. 

Early in June, 1863, Company E of the 30th, the 
first compan\- raised in Poughkeepsie, came home, 
with its remaining 55 men, under command of Joseph 
D. Williams, who went t)ut as Second Sergeant. Cap- 
tain Halliday hail been killed at the second battle of 
Bull Run. The company fought at South Mountain, 
.•\ntietam and other desperate battles, but a consider- 

INos. j(o-> .-ind 304 Main Street. Still standing. 



ISC, 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE 



able pn>]iiirti()n of its nieiiihers rc-ciiliste-d not long 
after tlu-ir return home. Their presence in Pongh- 
keepsie in |nl\. ikiring the draft riots in New York, 
added iinuii tu the security of the town, for on June 
2(ilh. when all the North was alarmed over Lee's in- 
vasion, the local militia regiment had been called into 
service and sent to Baltimore. There was much fear 
that disturbances might break out here in the absence 
of the 2 1st Regiment, and immediately after the receipt 
nf the news of the riots in New York companies of 
Ihime Ciuards were formed under command of Cap- 
tain Williams, and Mayor Innis sent an urgent request 
to Governor Seymour for artillery. After some delay 
he received a six-pounder brass field piece, with ac- 
companiments, including fourteen rounds of canister. 
P.v July 22nd there were eight companies of Home 
(lUards. comprising several hundred men. They were 
described in the newspapers as Company A. Captain 
William Berry, Company B, Captain John P. .Adriance, 
Com]«ny C. Captain Martin Beutel. Company D. Cap- 
tain I^affingwell, the United Plose Companies (Phoenix 
and Booth), Captain James W. Shurtcr, the Grant 
Cavalry. Captain Parish, and the artillery company. 
Captain J. .S. \'an Cleef. Their services were hajjpily 
never rei|nired. 

On jnlv :,^lh the miili in Xew Y(irk cut the tele- 
graph wires, and news nf the exciting events in the 
metropolis cduIiI onl\- lie olitained li\ mail nr fmui 
the reports of passengers on the railroad trains. The 
next day the trains were stoi)]ied and steamboats form- 
ed the sole means of commimication. The wildest and 
most exaggerated repnrts were currt'ut nf the doings 
of the mob. wliile the city was in its control, and sus- 
l)ense and imxiely were intense. The whole country 
wanted the news, and alK)ut all that could be obtained 
was furni.shed from Poughkeepsie. George W. Dav- 
ids, whose long service as reporter and city editor of 
the £(;^<,'/c had begun nn the day nf the first attack nu 
I'ort Sumter, cnlleeted the re|)orts bmughl by ])eoi)le 
on the trains and boats, rushed the news tn the office 
where it was Inilletined and telegraphed to the West. 
The /;(i,;'/c office was then the onl\ .Xssociated Press 
station between New York and .\lbany. 

The situatiiin was nut willmut its amusing side, 
however, for on the 14th a nulk train nf three cars 
destined for New ^'nrk was halted at 1 'dugbkeepsie 
and the milk was sold at one cent a (|uart. "( )lil nun 
with grey hairs, staid elderly dames, llu' \(iung ami 
spriglitly lasses, big boys and little ])oys, big girls and 
little girls, with pitchers, ])ails, mugs, pans, water 
pails, jugs, dippers, wash bowls, small tubs, etc.," all 
rushed to the cars to buy milk, which was just on the 
point of turning sour. The milk spree was so pro- 



nounced that the next day the doctors bad a large 
number of sick children on their hands. 

Apprehension that there might be trouble at home 
from opposition to the draft was not entirely unwar- 
ranted. There were a few aggressive Copperheads in 
town, and the early enthusiasm of all parties in sup- 
jiort of the government had given place to an atti- 
tude of criticism on tlie part of many that amounted 
to ojjposition to every movement towards raising 
troojis and greatlv exasperated those who were strain- 
ing every nerve to ujihold the administration and 
strengthen the army. ( )ccasional evidence of out- 
breaks of Cop]X'rheadism is to be found in the news- 
papers. At the time the news of the repulse of P.anks's 
first assault ujicm Port Hudson, in May, 1863, "one flag 
was raised early in the morning and kept flying all 
(lay. a thing it has rarely done before." One night, 
during the same month, the editor in charge of the 
Press was visited by a young man with a rawhide, ap- 
parently because of severe criticism of the Elsworth 
Greys. Sharp personalities were not infrequent in the 
news|ia]>ers of the time, but were generally to be 
fdimd in CDmmunicatidns signed by initials rather 
than in the editorial columns. 

( )n the first of Jul}', \>>fi;^. a third daily jjaper. 'I'hc 
f'oir^hkrcf^siaii. made its ajipearance, ]niblishcd by 
J. Henry liager and J. G. P. Ilolden. in the old Morris 
building, next to the Poughkeepsie Bank. It was au- 
uouuce<l as an "independent journal, warranted not in 
run in the well wurn rut nf ])arty" and clc>the<l "in 
lKil)ilinieuts nf a Infiy patrintism." At the end nf 
the same mnulh the Press ceased publicatinu' jind was 
purchased by Ivlward B. ( )si)nrne. nf the Trlci^^raf'h. 
who started it again nn the 22nd nf .\ugust at 28_^ 
Main Street. In his niiening editorial ^Iv. Osborne 
said that "the Denmcratic and conservative portion 
of this cnmuiunity have nn daily representative of their 
\iews. * * * The Republican party, nn the other 
lianil have twn re.ady and watchful daily journals, 
strnngl) p.irtis.'in," etc. Tin- roiii^^likcrpsiiiii resented 
this charge nf Republicanism, and indeed not long af- 
terwards became chielly devoted to abuse of the Eoi^lc 
and its editnr. It did nnt last Inng, :\lr. Hager .going 
tn .Xew \<'vk [n ].ublish the '/'ohacco Leaf, and Mr. 
llnlden In ^■nukers tn iniblish the Carjiilr. Mr. 
I'ease, fnrmer nw uer nf the Press, having resigned bis 
commission in the 80th Regiment, went tn Saratoga 
where he became editor of the Saratogiaii. 

lOld printers who worked for the Press have assured me 
that Mr. Osl)orne purchased the Press before its suspension, 
hut his opening editorial reads o.x.-u'tly as if lie wi-rc starting 
an entirely new publication, and imi'-t of tluni fail to rcmeni- 
l)cr tlial the paper ever was suspended. 




gb;orgp; innis. 

iMityoi- of Poughkccpsii\ /S6j-/S6S. 



188 



HISTORY OP POUGHKEEPSIE 



On the evenitiij (if Jvily jtli. 1803, there was a cele- 
bration over the surrender of \ icksburg-. "All the 
bells were rung and cannon fired in honor of the 
event. * * * After the firing was over the crowd 
resolved to give some of the Copperheads (as they 
thought) a turn," and visited several stores on Main 
Street, which the}' bombarded with fire crackers, scar- 
ing the proprietors badly. ,\n event of (juite a differ- 
ent character was the big festival at i'ine Hall on the 
loth. at which $787.27 was raised for the Soldiers' 
Relief .Association, according to the report of Mrs. 
W'inthrop Atwill, president, and Sarah Smith secre- 
tary. 

There were many letters in the new'spapers about 
this time from the 150th Regiment, from Captain Win. 
R. W'oodin^ and others, telling of experiences at (let- 
tysburg. Just after the battle a committee of citizens 
from Poughkeepsie, including Dr. Pine, Dr. L,udw'ig 
Ebstein. Dr. Alfred Hasbrouck, Aaron Innis and O. 
H. Booth went down to visit the battlefield and see if 
anything could be done to make the Dutchess County 
boys more comfortable. 

July 28th the 2 1st Regiment came home im the 
government transport Commodore, and was warmly 
welcomed by the Home Guards and hundreds of peo- 
ple. The regiment had done no fighting, but had been 
within sound of the guns at Gettysburg and was of 
considerable service guarding ])risoners, and relirxiug 
other troo])s wlm weri' in the big battle. ( )nly five 
companies, .A, D. G, K and R went, anil they num- 
bered less than 400 men. Company K was enlisted in 
Fishkill, but the rest were Poughkeepsie companies, of- 
ficered as follows : 

Company .\ ( lilsworlh ("ireys) — Captain, R. R. 
Hayman ; ljeuten;mts, .\lfred \'. Lindle\ , >S. K. Dar- 
row and Thomas Parker. 

Cnnipany 1) — Ca])tain. Reuben Tanner; Pieuti'U- 
ants, Pdward 'Juigle\'. William I l.inbenni'stel and G. 
P. Dennis. 

Company G — Captain, I'rank .MuIKr: l.ieuten;ints, 
George Schlude and Kormr. 

Company R — Captain l'*rank 1 h'ngslibeck : Pieu- 
tenant .Michaels. 

The seriousness of the war and the moral n.iture 
of the cause were greatly stimulating to religions and 
charitable activity at home and it was natural that this 
should be the time of the permanent organizatiim of 
the Young Men's Christian Association. Tlu' local 
association was organized at a meeting in the I'irst 
Methodist Church, August 21st, 1863, with Professor 



'Ciptaiii Wontliii was the Eaglc'.s correspondent dnrint; n 
:irge pari of tlic service of the 150II1 Regiment. 



William 11. Crosb\- chairman, .Addresses were made 
by S. W. Stebbins, president of the association in Xew 
^'ork, Charles C. Whitehead, Rev. Howard Crosby 
and Cephas P.rainerd. The officers elected were: 

Presiilent — John 11. Mathews. 

X'ice-President — James S. Case. 

Cor. Secretary — Frank L. Stevens. 

Recording Secretary — John I. Piatt. 

Treasurer — Wm. B. Fox. 

Directors — George Berry, ,\lfred .Atkins. Jacob P.. 
Jewett, IJthgow T, Perkins, George R. I'.rown, Wil- 
liam C. Dobbs. Walter P Husted, J, S. Aan Cleef and 
Thomas IT. Peggett. 

The members included most of the young men who 
had been in the older Young Men's Christian Pinion. 
.Meetings were held at first in a room over the City 
Bank on the corner of Market and Main Streets, and 
continued there until the association felt itself strong 
enough to jmrchase Pine Hall in 1872. 

One new church was built during the war, the 
Friends' JNIeeting Plouse on Montgomery Street, in 
1863. The old Orthodox Meeting House on Mill 
Street was sold, and a few years later was moved 
to Conklin Street and converted into a dwelling. J\ 
stood where the Theodore Jolmston houses were built 
aljout 1870, 

Politics — Tiiu C.v.mi'aic.x 01' 18^4. 

Pi politics the Reimblicans did not always have 
everything their own way during the war. The Dem- 
ocrats carried tlu' State in the fall of 1862, but Horatio 
Seymour, who was elected Governor, did not quite 
carry Poughkeepsie, James S. Wadsworth (jbtaining a 
majority of 1 17. Judge Nelson, as already noted, w'as 
e'ected to Congress at this time, obtaining a majority 
in the city of 4 votes, and Charles XMiealon, also a 
Democrat, was elected County Judge. The next 
s|iring, at the charti'r election, the Republicans won 
with Georgt' Imiis' ;is a candidate for mayor against 
James II. vSe;imaii. but the majority was onl\ 71. Tn 
18^15, however, when the city had been di\ided into 
six wards. Mayor Innis was re-elected without opposi- 
tion. This WMS rejieated in 1867, an honor shown to 
no other mayor of Poughkeepsie. 

The election of Noveml)er, l8ri3, brought Jose|)h F. 
r.arii;ird into the ."supreme Court, to succeed James 
l''.niott. He was twice re-elected, and was one of the 

iMr. Tnnis not long before the war purcha.sed and rebuilt 
the Davies house, opposite the railroad station on Main 
Street. The original house was built by William Davies 
("see p. Sj^ probably before 1800. William A. Davies is said 
III have been born there in 1S07. 




JUDGE BARNARD. 



190 



HISTORY OP POUCH KUEPSlU. 



most notable of the many Supreme Court justices that 
ha\e lived in Poughkeepsie. 

During the war a feeling of antagonism between 
the city and the county resulted in a proposition before 
the Board of Supervisors to remove the county poor 
house to the interior of the county. The Common 
Coimcil on January 19th, 1863, appointed the Mayor 
and Alderman Coffin a committee to confer with the 
Supervisors about this, and it was decided to separate 
the city from the rest of the county in the matter of 
support of the ])oor. Accordingly April j'jlh the 
Legislature passed an act providing for the change 
and naming James Emott, James H. Dudley, James 
Bowne, Joseph F. Barnard, Matthew Vassar, Jr., and 
Jacob B. Jewett "Commissioners of the .\lms House of 
the City of Poughkeepsie," with all requisite authority. 
All excise moneys and all fines from the Recorder's 
court were to be appropriated for the support of the 
city jjoor under control of this board. In the division 
of propertx with the county the city i)urchased the old 
county house grounds and in 1868-69 the present main 
.Vims House building was erected. 

The old county alms house, it may be added, was 
in its earl\- days a noteworthy institution. Dorothea 
Lynde Di.x. in the report published in 1844, of her 
famous visits to the alms houses of the State, said : 
"Tile Dutchess County House at Poughkeepsie is a 
modil of neatness, order and good discipline. The 
liousehold arrangements are excellent : the kilcluMis and 
cellars complete in every part. 1 have seen nothing 
in the State so good as these. F.x'cry a|)artnient in the 
almshouse was excejitii mally clean, v\cll fm-nishcd and 
neatly arranged. Such of the insane as were highly 
excited were in clean, decent rooms." This was high 
])raise, doubtless merited at the time, but probably tlie 
condition of affairs was very different wlun the buibl- 
ings had l)ecome old. ]( was so with the various 
Poughkeepsie jails. I'",ach one was pronounced a 
nioiUl of excellence when new, but condemned as un- 
lit for human beings at ibe end of its career. The 
county house luust h.ive luen pretty .seriously crowded 
at times, for an \Wn\ in the P.a,iilc in 1851 says there 
were between four and five hundred inni.ites. These 
included of course the i);nii)er insane, but it is hardly 
possible that there were propt'r accomniodalious for so 
large a number. 

The Presidential canii)aign of 186)4, whiK- not so 
lively as that of i860, was more notable f<-)r intensity 
of party feeling. The Republicans had plenty of am- 
munition for their stump speakers in the victories of 
the Union armies in the field, and Iiitterly denounced 
all who opposed the re-election of President T^incoln 
as Copperheads and enemies of the Union. The Dem- 



ocrats strongly resented this charge. Their genetal 
policy is well shown in the appeals to voters published 
in the Daily Press, where headings like the following 
were repeated from day to day : "A vote for Lincoln 
is a vote for more drafts," "A vote for Lincoln is a 
vote in favor of continuing the abolition war," "The 
abandonment of slavery is Lincoln's condition of 
peace," "Elect Lincoln and you endorse emancipation." 
Colonel Ketcham, for the first time a candidate for 
Congress, was vigorously denounced, chiefly for cer- 
tain alleged acts while a Member of Assembly before 
the war, and Captain W'oixlin was accused of forging 
soldier votes. The Democrats had an organization 
t)f "Little Mac" Guards, captained by C. A. Dimond, 
with Daniel Clifford first lieutenant, and Frank Ileng- 
stebeck second lieutenant. There was also a McClel- 
lan Guard, captained by James Daly. They raised a 
McClellan and Pendleton banner "between Pine's Hall 
and the Democratic Club opposite," October 8th, with 
Gilbert Deane and ( )w en T. 6'offin as principal speak- 
ers, and partv feeling ran so high that some one cut 
the baimer rope diu'ing the day. .\mong their chief 
speakers at the coimty meetings were C. J. (■aylor<l, 
Gerome Williams, Hon. Gilbert Dean, jobu .Moore, 
Esq.. A. M. Card, G. G. Titus, C. P.. lirundage and 
Edgar Thorne. 

The Democrats held no large out-door meetings, 
but on the afternoon of October 25th the Re])ublicans 
had a grand rally at the corner of Mill and W,-isliing- 
ton Streets, the speakers. Governor Mnrtmi and Judge 
T. J. I'.aruett, of Indian,!, lion. James luui.tt, the 
chairman, and Captain William R. WHodin, of the 
150th Regiment, occupying "a spacious stand erected 
in front of Piatt's Hotel." The Northern Hotel was 
al this time conducted by Isaac 1. Piatt, son-in-law of 
Is.aac 1. lialding. .\n imposing parade under liie mar- 
shalship of Thomas Parish preceded the speaking and 
"the glorious Stars and Stripes were flung to the breeze 
from almost every available point in the city." While 
passing 1 lengstebcck's store some one in the ranks tired 
a pistol, .ind the Press chargi'd tli;il this was an eft'ort 
to shoot a ]iromiiuiit Democrat. The incident was the 
subject of man\ bitter nrwsp.-ipcr arlicK-s. The Press 
also charged tli:it Judge I'laruelt w;is drunk when he 
s|ioke ;it the meeting, and occu])ie(l a good many col- 
unuis in sui)porl of the statement. This gives a fair 
idea of the n;iture of tlu- c:nnpaign. 

The RepublicHU speakers at tin- suirdler nuH'tings 
throughout the county included C.ilouel ( ). T. I'.eanl, 
then a newspaper I'ditor ,il Detroit, .Mich., but some 
twenty-five years laltr ;i resident of Poughkeep.sie, 
Chauncey M. Depew, then ."Secretary of .State (New 
\nrk State I, William 1. Tho|-n. John Thomi)son, 



HISTORY OF p u G H K n n p s I n 



191 



Rev. J. L. Coniins'. Joliii I. IMatt, Alhinl Aiith.niy and 
Mark D. Will.cr. uf I '(iu.;likrc|)sic. TIk- luistiiiaii 
College ISaml, ihcii recently ciri;anizt-il, was a leadini;" 
feature at many pujitical nieetin!.;s. 

At llie electiiin in Xii\einl)er I.inenln and jolmson 
received a majority of 2411 in the city, (.encral George 
B. McClellaii carrying only (ine nf the four wards, the 
Third. Reiihen K. Fenton, fur (idvermir. had 247 
majority over Horatio Seyinmn-, while Colonel John 
II. Ketchani, for Congress, le<l Judge Nelson hy 305. 
The largest majority in the city was ohtained liy .\1- 
lard Anthony, 406, over Ambrose Wager, for County 
Judge. The Republicans of course carried the county 
and Congressional district by sulistantial majorities. 

It was customary at this time to celebrate victories, 
and nil Xovember 23d there was "a grand I'liiiin pa- 
rade" uiiiler the marshalship nf J^hn I'. Adriance. 



East M. AN Corj.KGi' — P.usinivSS Conditions. 

At this time Eastman College was experiencing a 
tremendous boom, as the result of Mr. Eastman's lib- 
eral advertising among the snldiers whnse terms w'ere 
expiring. With tables all laid ;U tlu- big lliickcye 
building, he did nut miss llie chance of holding a 
banquet there, larger than thai nf the I_vOyal I^egion, 
two days later. The amiixersary of the College, al- 
ways a rather moveable fe;ist, was celebrated at Tine 
Hall on the evening of Dect'inber 2ist, when I birace 
Greele}- gave his famous lecture nii "The Self-.Made 
Man." ( )n the next evening came the ban(|uet, with 
"tables spread fur 2,500 students and guests." It is 
hard to see bow e\en ."-^mith I'.nithers could have served 
such a crowd as that. The "I'.rigade of the College" 
numbered 1,500, according to the newspapers. The 
Baltic's descri])tion of the event begins: "It is now 












Vc.U i-'- /'•■^'•-'' TIT'S V CE7'iT3 ci 






:.^i»'^^^^^<g 



f^-;\,u, 5'>f:-f 






.:y* 







"Photo hy O. N. SKAMAN. 



01 Ih, lusl Sliinf^laslcrs of the City of rou,iiIilu;[>sii 
( ( hii^iini/ly priiitid in ird. ) 



Main Street was fairly ablaze with tireworks ;uid tar 
barrels. .A further and more imtable celebration was 
the banquet of the Loyal Legion "in the .\'ew lluckeye 
Mower and Reaper fiuilding of .\driance, I'latt & Co., 
South Water Street," on Tuesday evening. December 
20th. There were over one thousand men at the 
tables, spreail through the lower lloor of the main 
building, 211 feet long. The members of the Loyal 
League, six hundred strong, marcheil in headeil by the 
Eastman College Band. Hon. C/eorge W. Sterling 
presided, and speeches were made by Rev. J. L. Cnrn- 
ing, Ibm. John Stanton Gould, Mark D. Wilber, Rev. 
DeLns Lull, William I. Thorn, Allard Antlioii)', Rev. 
1;. .M. Ad.-nns and Pierre Girand, \\ S. .X. Smith 
Brothers were the caterers, and received a generous 
puff in the newspapers for their service. 



an established fact that no College or Educational In- 
stitution on this terrestrial globe h;is met with success 
equal to that of Eastman Xation;il lUisiness College," 
and this statement is jjrobably not much exaggerated. 
Rev. Samuel D. Burchard — the same man whose 
"Rnm, Romanism and Rebellion" alliteration created 
such a sensation in tin- Blaine campaign of 1884 — 
Joseph 11. Jackson, .\llard .\nthony and Rev. J. L. 
Corning were among the s])eakers. 

This great increase of students naturally added ma- 
terially to the business of the city, which, in spite of 
the fact that the war had ruined several local indus- 
tries, was generally sound and prosperous. .\ consi<l- 
erable number of men were em|iloyed during niiich of 
the war on new building enterprises, including the 
Buckeye \\'orks of Adriance, i'latt & Co., X'assar Col- 



192 



H I ST O kY OF POUGHKEEPSIH. 



lege, and several new business buildings on Main and 
Market Streets. Tbc Morgan Block, on the district 
east of Catharine Street, burned in iS6o, was liuilt just 
at the beginning of the war, and the Colliiigwood 
building on Market Street, in 1863. This ilitl not in- 
clude the Opera House, which was not completed until 
about six years later. The new dry goods store of 
George Van Klecck & Co., described as "the finest 
structure of its kind between New York and Albany," 
was built in 1S64. Up to this time the George \'an 






7(^u//f/yY^syf'. 



.^-^l? 



O^r^^K/^iiUjp. 



WW * ■ . 






^n^ 




'•/^^^'WiF'-' V///y /fmi 









^5?sa5?9»Kis?--'»r 






My.'^y/'/.^/'// 







J'oiiglikccpsic City Shinplasters, second sm'ts. 
(From collcdioii'of W. /•'. llooth.) 

Kleeck store had been on the west corner of Liberty 
Street. 

At an earlier period in the war all industries and all 
business had bee<i seriously affected, and the ])henome- 
non of the disappearance of all small change, already 
noted as having taken place during the War of 1812, 
and during the panic of 1837, again occurred. As on 
the earlier occasions business firms printed shin])lasters 
in large numbers. The Uaglc was among them, and 



some of the checks then issued have never vet been 
presented for redemption. The City of P'oughkeej> 
sie issued two sets of shinplasters, the second hand- 
somely engraved by the American Hank Note Com- 
pany. The United States government at length put a 
stop to all this private currency by issuing its own 
shiniilasters. Much of the apparent prosperity of the 
latter part of the war was due to the constantly rising 
prices incident to the depreciation of the paper cur- 
rency, but there are plenty of local instances of the 
serious hardships caused by the high prices and by tlu' 
constant efforts at readjustment as the price of gold 
fluctuated with the varying fortunes of the Lhiion 
armies. 

On the 25th of April, 1864. a si.xth bank was or- 
ganized in Poughkeepsie. This was the First Na- 
tional, the first bank to be organized under the Na- 
tional Banking Act, then recently passed. The or- 
ganizing directors were Cornelius DuBois, Levi M. 
.\rnold, George B. Lent and Daniel II. Tweedy. .\t 
the first annual election Robert Slee, David Harris. 
George B. Lent. II. G. Eastman, Jacob B. Carpenter, 
Hudson Taylor and James A. Seward were added. 
Mr. Eastman remained a director of this bank until 
1870. when he was succeeded by John P. Adriance. 
TIk' present cashier, F. E. Whipple, has been employed 
in the bank since its organization, having served as 
teller until the resignation of Zebulon Rudd in 1889. 
The older state banks of the city were all reorganized 
as National Banks, not long after the oi)ening of the 
First National. 

Poughkeepsie was holding its own also as a place 
of residence. John O. Whitehouse, a prosperous shoe 
manufacturer of Brooklyn, came here in i860, and in 
1863 purchased of George Wilkinson the handsome 
place on Southeast (now Hooker) .\\-enue, still known 
as the Whitehouse Place. This place had been owned 
before the war by lienjamiii W. \orth. who in order 
lo make access to the settled portion of the town a lit- 
tle easier constructed a tan bark sidewalk all the way 
to the corner of Hamilton Street. He sold the place 
to Mr. Wilkinson, who was a Xew N'ork merchant not 
related to the Wilkinsou family of l'onghkei'i)sie. in 
October, 1859, and Mr. Wilkinson Imill the ])resent 
house. A few years after Mr. Whitehouse's purchase 
of the place "Springside" was added to it by pur- 
chase from Matthew \'assar. 

Hudson Taylor,' who had si)ent most of his boy- 

1 Concerning Hudson Taylor's residence in Washingon, 
the following from the Autobiography and Reminiscences of 
Moncure D. Conway (veil, i, p. _'4(;) is interesting and char- 
.acteristic. Conway ha<l jnst ln'cn dismissed (1856) from 
tlic pastorate of the Unitarian Church in Washington because 
of pronounced anti-slavery strui.ius: "In the afternoon of 



History of poughkeepsih 



19.^ 



hood in Poughkeepsie, returned here in 1863, after 
many years of successful business in Washington, 
D. C, and purchased "the magnificent residence of 
WilHam Barnes, Esq., on Academy Street," for $20,- 
000. He was an uncle of Robert R. Taylor, the Re- 
corder. 

James Winslow had purchased property a short 
distance south of the city — now the Taft place — before 
the war, but his brother, John F. Winslow, was at this 
time associated with Erastus Corning in the iron busi- 
ness at Troy, and did not purchase the Crosby place 
on the Hyde Park road until 1867. John F. Winslow 
was one of the owners of the first patents upon the 
Bessemer steel process, and was one of the chief finan- 
cial iiackers of lu'icson when the first Monitor was 
built. 

The S.\nit.\rv F.mr. 

Just at the close of the war the Sanitary Fair, a 
memorable event which set the whole city at work, was 
held March 15th to igth, at 178-180 Main St/eet. This 
building was described as "a large unoccupied coach 
factory," owned by Matthew Vassar. It had been 
I'Vederick's carriage factory, but was transformed by 
the decorators into a most wonderful fairy land. 
Weeks before the great fair opened the newspapers 
were filled \\ itli notices of committee meetings, de- 
scri])tii)ns of proposed attractions, etc. It is impossi- 
ble to read the)n to-day without catching some of the 
enthusiasm of the times. Everybody was vitally in- 
terested and everybody was at work. The officers of 
the Fair, as given in the iiamphlet published .soon af- 
terwards, were : 

President — jVIrs. James Winslow. 

Vice-Presidents — Mrs. Thomas L. Davies, Mrs. G. 
C. Piurnap, Mrs. George Innis, Mrs. I'.enson J. Los- 
sing, Mrs. William S. Morgan, Mrs. John Thompson 
and Mrs. Dr. P>eadle. 

Secretary — Mrs. Charles H. Ruggles. 

Treasurer — Miss Sarah M. Car])enter. 

Tliese, with Mrs. Charles IT. Swift, Mrs. Van \'al- 
kenburgh, Mrs. Le Grand Dodge, Mrs. C. W. Tooker, 
and Mrs Haydock, made up the executive committee. 
There were also twenty-two managers, and forty-five 



tliat Sunday on which I had spoken my farewell words, a 
number of my friends called, and Hudson Taylor — who, with 
liis lovely wife, had given nic sucli a beautiful home — could 
not repress some reproach that I had by a few discourses sh;it- 
tcred such happy relationships. His niece, Charlotte Taylor 
(now Mrs. Robley Evans) said that I had to olicy my con- 
science. But Hudson cried "Damn conscience !" The tear 
in his eye did not blot out the oath, but embahned it in my 
memory as the loving farewell of as faithful and generous 
a friend as I ever had." 



committees to look after the attractions, booths, etc. 
The whole county was represented, and gifts of articles 
to sell came in from all sides. A special Buckeye mow- 
ing machine was made by the men of tlie factory and 
contributed. Before the fair began there was a series 
of auxiliary entertainments in the schools and churches 
and in Pine Hall, including a lecture by Rev. Henry 
W'ard Beecher, and these netted a considerable sum. 
It was reported that 4,000 people visited the fair on 
one of the nights. "The crush of crinoline and the 
smash of hats was terrible," said the Eagle, l)nt "ev- 
erybody was happy." ='= * * "You could hardly 
turn about without meeting the glance of a pair of 
eyes that would make any person hand out any amount 
for anything oflfercd for sale." vNine hundred and 
seventeen quarts of ice cream, 50 gallons of lemonade 
and 46,000 oysters were consumed. In the midst of 
it all the Eagle was ungracious enough to object to 
the rafHing, which was a leading feature, and was de- 
fended by Mrs. lienson J. Lossing. Rev. Mr. Lull, 
of the Washington Street Church, preached a sermon 
on the subject, but then the fair was over and it had 
taken in $18,640.87, with expenses of only $2,358.15, 
leaving net proceeds of $16,282.72 for the Sanitary 
Commission, truly a good showing for a small city 
in war time. 

Tniv Cr.osE oF Tiric W.\k. 

A few weeks later, on Monday, April 3rd, came the 
news of the capture of Richmond, which was received 
with great rejoicing. Says the Eagle: "Men threw 
up their hats, boys shouted and women joined the gen- 
eral jollification. In the afternoon the splendiil band 
attached to the Eastman College, followed b} a largo 
concourse of citizens paraded the streets, and sere- 
naded all public places, including this office and the 
residence of our reporter. Not a few highly elated 
individuals purchased masks, and dressing themselves 
up fantastically paraded the streets with the utmost 
unconcern, blowing on tin horns, ringing bells, etc. 
Shortly after i o'clock, in accordance with an order 
from the city authorities, a salute of 100 guns w^as 
fired and the church, Court House and City Llall bells 
were rung. It is impossible to describe the enthusi- 
asm that existed." 

Events followed each other in ra])id succession 
tlu'ii. Less than a week later, on Sunday evening, 
-\pril oth, came the news of Lee's surrender at Ap- 
])oniattox. 

"At ten o'clock on vSunday night," s;i\s the Eagle, 
when the first dispatch was received at this office an- 
nouncing the surrender of General Lee, our sanctum 
was crowded with prominent citizens, who greeted 
the news with deafening cheers, and immediately or- 



194 



History of poughkeepsie. 



gaiiized tliemselves into squads to awake the slumber- 
ing inhabitants and inaugurate a grand rejoicing. 
Bonfires were started, bells rung, etc. Prof. Eastman 
got out his drum corps and ver}- soon arranged a pro- 
cession. The jubilant crowd called on Judge Eniott, 
Hudson Taylor, Esq., and other prominent citizens, 
and although the night was far advanced, were re- 
ceived by each of the above named gentlemen in the 
most enthusiastic manner. A delegation also pro- 
ceeded to Provost ^Marshal Johnston's residence below 
town and imparted the good news to him. Fire com- 
panies paraded the streets and immense crowds con- 
gregated in front of the Eagle to get the dispatches 
as fast as they were received." 

A great celebration was planned in honor of the 
close of the war, but arrangements were cut shnrt on 
the following Saturday by the announcement of the 
assassination of President Lincoln, which created the 
greatest consternation. Many people thought the war 
was to be prolonged in a sort of reign of terror, as- 
sassins taking the place of armies in the open. "Pough- 
keepsie on Saturday was draped in mourning. Men 
pale with anxiety walked the streets with horror de- 
picted on their countenances. Many shed tears. The 
female portion of the community, especially those who 
have sacrificed fathers, brothers, husbands, or friends 
on the altar of their country, received the awful news 
with emotion pitiful in the extreme. All the flags of 
the city were placed at half mast, and public and pri- 
vate buildings were draped in mourning. " There were 
not wanting, however, a few individuals who took oc- 
casion to e.xpress their satisfaction at the terrible deed, 
and they were naturally roughly handled by the 
crowd. One woman was arrested in nrdcr to ])rotect 
her, and several stores had to be closed for a time 
until the excitement wore olT. 

( )n Suuflay all the churches were draped in mourn- 
ing and were crowded with people, and the sermons 
were all, we are told, appropriate to the occasion. 



President Lincoln's funeral also, on \\'ednesday, .\pril 
15th, was observed by services in the churches, and by 
a procession and public out-door meeting in front of 
the Court House. The procession, marshalled by 
John 1'. Adriance, was inade up as follows: 

Mayor and Marshal, and Provost ^[arshal. 

Provost Guards. 

(Jfficers 2 1 St Regiment. 

Drum Corps. 

Ci >mmon Council. 

Military and Military Schools. 

Fire Department. 

Eastman Business College. 

Eastman Band. 

Clergy. 

Citizens. 

Sons of Temperance. 

Singing Society, Germania. 

German Turners' Association. 

Free Masons. 

r)dd Fellows. 

A great stantl had been erected on the Main Street 
side of the Court House, and in front of it the crowd 
filled the street. The services were opened with 
prayer by Rev. Dr. Hageman, of the Second Reformed 
Church, and closed by prayer from Rev. G. ^L Mc- 
Eckron, of the First Reformed Chiu'cli. lion. Allard 
-Anthony made the funeral oration, which was pro- 
nounced a very eloquent effort. 

( )n the 25th the train bearing the remains of the 
martyred President ])assed through Poughkeepsie. on 
its way to Illinois. All business w'as suspended and 
practically the whole popidation assembled along the 
tracks to see it pass. Draped in black, and with the 
wheels so nuilfled that it ran almost noiselessly, except 
for till' tolling of the engine's bell, it was a most im- 
pressive sight, and was long remembered as "The ghost 
train." 




HciN. J(.)HN H. KHTCHAM. 



CHAPTER X. 



From the Close of the War to the Panic of 1873 — Return of the Soldiers — Wonderful Suc- 
cess OF Eastman College — Eastman Park — Opening and Organization of Vassar College — 
Changes Among City Schools— Politics— Churches, Charitable and Religious Institutions 
— The Hudson River State Hospital — Manufacturing and Other Industries — Growth and 
Municipal Improvement, the Water and Sewer Systems — The Poughkeepsie & Eastern and 
THE City Railroads— The Poughkeepsie Bridge— Social Life, Sports and Clubs. 



Al the close of the war rouj^hkeepsic, like other 
Northern cities, began to settle down to the ordinary 
affairs of life, and started upon a half decade of the 
most rapid growth in its history. The soldiers came 
home, were warmly welcomed, and found that return- 
ing business prosperity had opened opportunities for 
most of them to find immediate employment. The 
150th Regiment arrived in Poughkeepsie about mid- 
night of Saturday, June loth, 1865, and "although the 
hour was late, nevertheless thousands of men and 
women and children assembled to greet the veterans. 
* * * The news of the arrival spread like wildfire 
and in almost an instant Main Street was in a glare of 
flame from burning tar barrels and fireworks." The 
great reception came on Monday, when i)eoi)le poured 
into the city from all the surrounding counties, until 
one estimate says there were "nearly if not quite 50,- 
000." "Having witnessed all the great occasions here 
from the visit of Lafayette in 1824 up to this time," 
wrote Isaac Piatt, "we can safely assert that no ila\' 
or occasion like it has before appeared in our annals." 
There was, of course, a great parade, and Main 
Street, "from Water Street to the Red Mills was one 
vast sea of handkerchiefs fluttering wildly in the 
breeze." Banners and even arches of flowers were 
stretched across some of the streets. The i)ublic 
school children were all assembled on the wall of 
Mayor Innis's residence, in lower Main Street, and the 
regiment halted while the children sang and presented 
each veteran with a bouquet of flowers. Groups of 
ladies from many towns in the county came in cos- 
tumes of National colors, and one of the special fea- 
tures was "a wagon load of young ladies from Salt 
Point representing every state in the ITnion." The 
procession ended at Mansion Square Park, where 
Judge Emott made the address of welcome, and Col- 
onel A. B. Smith, who was in command of the regi- 



ment, the reiily, folluweil by (k-neral Ketchani. "The 
grand winding u]) of the affair took place in front of 
the residence of Prof. Eastman, in Washington Street, 
in the evening." 

This regiment was one of the few allowed to nuis- 
ter out at home. The 128th, less favored, returned 
in detachments somewhat later, and no general wel- 
come could be extended to it, though a few comiianies 
were given special receptions here and there. A num- 
ber of Poughkeepsie boys, who had enlisted in other 
regiments remained in the service considerably longer. 
Nathaniel Palmer, for instance, was with the 20th 
Regiment in the occu|)ation of Richmond, and was 
contributing letters to the Telegraph as late as Sep- 
tember. Captain William Platto, who was with the 
128th Regiment, organized a company of veterans soon 
after his return that was called "The Independent 
Veteran X'olunteers." and they often paraded in 
Zouave uniform. They remained in existence until 
a few _\ears ago. 

The opening of Atlriance. I'latt & Co.'s large new 
factory, and the great popularity of Eastman College 
were leading factors in producing excellent local busi- 
ness conditions. The opening of Vassar College con- 
tributed its share, though it was by no means so im- 
portant, even relatively, as now. Several small man- 
ufacturing enterprises were started and some large 
ones were planned, and labor was in good demand in 
building, though the building boom had not yet be- 
gun. One of the improvements of the year 1865 
which deserves notice was the reconstruction of the 
lower floor of the City Hall for the Post Office. Its 
use as a market had ceased several years before, and 
partitions had been erected dividing it into a Re- 
corder's court room, an office for the Superintendent 
of the Poor and a meeting room for Protection ^o. i 
Engine Company. These partitions were now taken 



198 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE 







J/aiA;f .>//(■(■(■ ;// /.^ 



///,■ ,</./ /-oinHS J/ii/iM- ii-raiuhi iiiii /;■ at, 7/ ,(/ //ir A'//. 



out and the work of refitting was finished in the fall 
or early winter, when Albert \"an Kleeck.' the post- 
master and local Republican leader, moved the office 
from the old I'.aker or Brush house, on the corner of 
I'nion and Market Streets, where it had been since 
1851. The Common Council at this time met in the 
seconil floor room on the northwest corner — after- 
wards the City Chamberlain's ofifice, and now the 
.Ma\(ir"s office — until the present council room was 
fitted i\[> in i86(), when the old public hall was divided 
by ])artitions. 

Referring to the changes in the City Ilall the Td- 
Ci^raph of October 7th, 1865, says : "The ujjper hall 
which has so often resounded to the clamor and 
plaudits of excited public assemblages, where cau- 
cuses full of momentous interest to aspiring candidates 
for public favor, have met to 'de'iberate,' where the 
voices of political orators have swayed multitudes for 
and against public measures, and where the people's 
weapon of revolution, the ballot, has so often been 
l?on of Tunis Van Kleeck. See pp. 86 and 87. 



cast — has for months formed one of the F.astnian Col- 
lege rooms of instruction. " 

Eastman College was then at the top notch of its 
popularity, the number of students being "more than 
1,700," if reports are trustworthy. The Kastmaii Col- 
lege Band, already mentioned in connection with the 
events of the campaign of 1864, was one of Mr. l*".ast- 
nian's most successful advertising features. It had 
taken prominent part in the procession at President 
Lincoln's second inauguration, where it immediately 
preceded his carriage down Pennsylvania .\venue. and 
a few weeks later, when his body was carried, aiuid 
the tears of the nation, from Washington to its last 
resting place in Illinois, this band formed the escort 
in the parade u\) Broadway through Xew York, jour- 
neyed to Albany on the funeral train, and again played 
solemn dirges as the body was borne to and from 
the State Capitol. The concert tours of the band in 
the West attracted favorable notice, and students by 
hundreds followed it to Ponghkeepsic to enroll them- 
selves in Mr. Eastman's wonderful institution. 




ALBERT VAN KLEECK. 
fioni Pcccinhir ^7, jSo6. Died Novctiiber 7, 1S66. 



HISTORY OP POUGHKEEPSIB 



Main- of these yomio; men expressed surprise and 
disapi)ointnient on their arrival to find that the college 
had no magnificent buildings — in fact had no college 
buildings at all — but was scattered throughout the 
town in all sorts of rented rooms. The ruimis in which 
the college began in the so-called Library Building 
were not long retained, but besides the upper floor of 
the City Hall a floor of the McLean building, oppo- 
site the Court House, and three churches were rented 
—the old Methodist Church, finall\ incorporated in the 
permanent college building, the old Universalist 
Church, originally Presbyterian, on Cannon Street, 
and the old Congregational Church (now the Jewish 
Synagogue) on Vassar Street. For a while llryant 
and Stratton tried to run an o|ii)osition school, but 
Mr. Eastman bought them out, and then for some 
time leased their rooms in the Wright Building, above 
Catharine Street, where the \'. W. C. A. is located. 
The resources of the city were taxed to their utmost 
to find boarding places for all these young men. rents 
advanced and building received considerable encour- 
agement. 




constructing the drives and in planting trees and 
shrubbery. 

The grounds were thrown open to the ]iublic to 
be used as a ])ark, 1 lielieve. in September. i>>iij. That 
at anv rate api^ears to have been the first year of a 
public anniversary celebration there for the college. 
The grounds were decorated with Chinese lanterns 
and there was a fine display of fireworks in the even- 
ing with six thousand people present, according to 
the re])orts. Horace Greeley was the chief speaker 
at this anniversary, his subject being Temperance. 
K.arlier in the same year the movement had been 
started which resulted in the erection of tlie Soldiers' 



/■Aisliinvi /'ai/c. sho:ciii,K S/ca/iiiii I'ark Jloodcd, about /S75. 

It was in iS(>5 that .Mr. l'"„-istMi,in ])urehased what 
was genendl>- ealleil thr Robert I'orrest i)roperly on 
the corner of .Market .-md .Montgomery Streets, most 
of it from the widow of llrrm;m Jewell, lie addi'd 
seviral other lots to il and laid out the beautiful 
grounds, so long known as Ivistman Park. .Much of 
the land was swampy, bordering tlie brook that wound 
through it from beyond Montgomery Street (see map 
page 71 ). and ;m elaborate sy.stem of nnderdrains was 
put in carrying the brook underground to a circular 
))ond. constructed with an island in the centre, upon 
which a band stand was erected. This brook was 
also made to flood the large athletic field bordering 
Jefferson Street, which was used as a skating park in 
the winter. A small fortune was spent in grading, 




///, .s, ,/,//, 



Foimlain, though the original plan was for a monu- 
ment. 

A "Great Monument Celebration" took place on the 
Fourth of Jnh with "the largest parade in the history 
of the ciu or of an\ cit\- outside of New York, in 
the state." General Kelciiam was the gi:uiil m,-irslial. 
Two militia rc'ginu'nls. the _'lst and Jjud. liremen fnmi 
nearh all the ri\er towns, and many fr;itenial org.an- 
izations. including thi-ee labor unions ( briekl;iyers and 
masons') took p;irl. Meetings had ln-eu luld through- 
out the county in the interest of the monument and 
tlu' crowd in llu' cil\ was \-i-ry large. .Ml ]iroceeded 
according to progr.imme luitil afternoon, when the 
chief feature was to ii.ive been a grand ojien air din- 
ner on Mansion Square, with an oration bv General 
Stewart L. Woodford, llien TJeutenant Governor, but 
"Proceedings at the dimur table on Mansion Sijuarc 
were brought to a close by a succession of the sever- 
est thiuider storms ever witnessed in this section of the 
country." There was no oration, no balloon ascension, 
no fireworks. "The thousands in the city were driven 
by the pitiless storm to every conceivable place of 



^ 


h- 


€^ 


^^- 


l^'^^- 






^ 



HARVI'.V (,. l^ASTMAX. 



203 



HISTORY OF POUGHKBEPSIE 



shelter, until e\cry stnre and private hall dii Main 
Street was filknl with males and females." Ami.)n>;- 
the distinguished persons present were Lieut. Wdrtlen, 
who had commanded the Monitor at the memorable 
defeat of the Merrimac, and Surgeon Parsons, a sur- 
vivor of the War of 1812, who had served on Pcrrv's 
flagship Lawrence on Lake F.rie. 

Though the elements interfered sad!y with the 
celebration the monument fund cnntinui'd tn grow, 
helped by the proceeds of many small entertainments, 
including scrub boat races on the river. Mr. East- 
man's enterprise was recognized in the location and 
also in the change of plan to a fountain. .\t the dedi- 
cation in 1870 there was another notable Fourth of 
July celebration, with Major General McMahon, of 
Brooklyn, as orator. The crowd assembled at East- 
man I'ark and the weatlier did not prevent the balloon 
ascension or the fireworks. 

OPRXINC. AX]) ( iuCAMZATIOX OF \'aSS.\R CoTJ.KGK. 

Without so much advertising, but with a great 
deal of notice and comment from the press of the 
whole country, \'assar College opened in September, 
1865, with 353 students, eight of whom were from 
Poughkeepsie, Catharine Rogers Boardman, Maria 
Louisa Booth, Elizabeth Anderson Cramer, Catharine 
Rogers Jones, Mary Carrington Raymond, Emma 
Corning Sweetser, Carrie Elizabeth V^assar and Mary 
Elizabeth Wright. Others from Dutchess county were 
Evelyn .*\ngell, Salt Point; EHzalieth Reynolds Beck- 
with, Stanford ; Jane Maria Cookingham, Rhinebeck ; 
Sarah Jane 1 lerrick. Salt Point; and T^ily vSwift, 
Amenia I'nion. Students were arranged in the first 
catalogue alphabetically, and ;is ihvx were in all stages 
of advancement, no attempt could at nnce be made to 
sort them into classes. When the seccmd catalngue 
was issued. \?t(^G-Gy, four girls h;i(l been ]iicke(l nul ;is 
seniors, Maria Loraine l)irkinsiin, Delrnit, Mich.: 
Elizabeth Louise (iciger, .Marinn, ( ). ; llarriette .\nna 
Warner, Detroit, .Mich.: ami Helen Douglas Wood- 
ward, Plattsliurgh. The summary of students was as 
follows : 

Seniors 4 

Juniors, full standing 18 

Juniors, condiliuned () 27 

Second year, full standing 2() 

Second year, conditioned 13 42 

First year 46 

Unclassified J^i 

Specials 189 

3S6 

Before the third catalogue was issued the pnpara- 

tory de])artnunt h;id been nrganized with J^ students. 



and there were 2~, seniors, 36 juniors, 43 second year 
girls. },j first year and 123 specials. The first use of 
the words "sophomore" and "freshmen," instead of 
"second year" and "first year," occurs in the cata- 
logue fur 1S72-73. in which also three Poughkeepsie 
girls are included among the seniors : Grace Bayley 
Jewett, Mary Carrington Raymond and Elma Dore- 
mus Swift. The difficulties of classification of the 
students of the first few years show very plainly the 
general conditions of wcmian's education at the time 
the college was opened. There was no such thing 
as a pre|)aratory scho(.)l for girls and it was very diffi- 
cult to get the various female seminaries and colle- 
giate institutes to conform to the requirements, as each 
was bending its energies towards a complete course of 
its own. The college was forced to establish a pre- 
paratory department in order to furnish a model for 




rassar l'ol/cX>-, p/iohi;rap/uil ahoiit iSjo. 

iillier jin'iiaratiiry schnuls, as well as to take care of 
stnilenls alri-ad\ entered w Im were not found sufYi- 
cii-ntly aihanced for ilu' first \ear. or freshman class 
in a regular college cmu'se. It was nt'viTtheless a 
step wdiich aroused the oppositiim of the schools, 
nian\' nf wlmse ])rinci|ials began to cry down the col- 
lege, instead of conforming their courses of stud_\' to 
its requirements. Some other institutions for the 
higher education of women had called themselves col- 
leges bi-fore \ assar w;is oiiened, and oni' or two wi're 
conducting coursi-s that bori' some resembkmce to 
those of the colk\ges for men. Inil X'assar nex'ertbe- 
less was the pioneer, li;id all the |)roblems to solve, 
and had to \\\c down all the o|i|iosition and ridicule 
that assail every new institution as soon as it begins 
to get well enough started to show that it will inter- 
fere with older institnlions. 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEBPSIE. 



20.3 



In the selection of a scheme of educational courses 
for \'assar College the contrast between President 
Jewett's plans, which were rejected, and those finally 
adopted under President Raymond, is interesting. Af- 
ter his visit to Ivurope Dr. jewett made a report in 
which he said : 

".\ careful examination shows that in our colleges 
one-third of the whole time is consumed on the Dead 
Languages alone. Another third of the course is de- 
voted to Mathematics ; while only one-fifteenth is 
given to the whole circle of Natural Sciences, and 
only I3-I20ths to the study of English Language and 
Literature. '■' * * We would therefore abridge 
the college course in Mathematics and Metaphysical 
and Political P'hilosophy, and thus secure more time 
to be devoted to our own and other modern languages ; 
to Xatural History, Domestic Economw Music, Draw- 
ing and Painting." 

Dr. Jewett recommended a L'niversity System of 
arrangement, "all the branches to he taught under 

niut' different schools, as foll(jws : 

1. The School of Religion and Morals. 

2. The School of Natural History. 

3. The School of Physical Sciences. 

4. The School of History and Political Economy. 

5. The School of Language and Literature. 

6. The School of Psychology, including Mental 

Philosophy and Aesthetics. 

7. The School of Mathematics. 

8. The School of Art and Philosophy of Education. 

9. The School of Art, including Alusic, Drawing, 

Painting, etc. 

The order of numbering represented Dr. Jewett's 
idea of the importance of the subjects. Four testi- 
monials from each of the schools were to entitle a 
student to the final degree of M. A. "Mistress of Arts." 
This interesting scheme was doubtless suggested by 
the German Lhiiversities, but much of it was original, 
and in many points Dr. Jewett was clearly some 
twenty-five years ahead of the times. His plans were 
d(_)ubtless too radical for their day. and the trustees 
felt that \'assar must first make known the ability of 
women to compete with men on substantially the lines 
of the older American colleges, but the final reason 
for the rejection of Dr. Jewett was a personal dis- 
agreement with the founder, quite apart from aca- 
demic matters. Some traces of his plans are found 
in the "School of \'ocal antl Instrumental Music," 
the "School of Design," and the "School of Physical 
Training," the two former of which were maintained 
until i8i)j. They were designated "Extra Collegiate 
Departments," besides which there were eight regular 
collegiate departments, each with a professor at its 
head, though the department of History and Political 



Economy was not at once organized. The officers 
of government and instruction are given in the first 
catalogue as follows : 

John H. R.wmond, LL. D., President, and Pro- 
fessor of Mental and' Moral Philosoph\-. 

Hann.xh W. Lvm.w. Lady Principal. 

WiLi.i.vM L Kn.vpi'. a. .M., Professor of Ancient 
and Modern Languages. 

Charles S. Farrar, A. M., Professor of Mathe- 
matics, Natural Philosophy and Chemistry. 

Sanborn TennEy, A. AL, Professor of Natural 
History, including Geology and Minerology, Botany, 
Zoology and Physical Geography. 

Mari.\ Mitcheu., Professor of Astronomy and di- 
rector of the Observatory. 

Alida C. Avery, M. D., Professor of Physiology 
and Hygiene and resident Physician. 

Henry B. Buckham, A. IVL, Professor of Rhe- 
toric. Belles-lettres, and the English Language. 

Edward WiEbK, Professor of Vocal and Instru- 
mental Music. 

Henry \"ax Inc.Ex, Professor of Drawing and 
Painting. 

Louis F. Rondee, Instructor in the French Lan- 
guage. 

Delia F. Woods, Instructor in the Department of 
Physical Training. 

Jesse L'SHEk, Teacher of the Latin Language. 

Lucia M. Gilbert, Teacher of the Greek Lan- 
guage. 

Priscill.k 11. Bkaisi.ix, Teacher of .Mathematics. 

Eliza M. Wiley, Teacher of Music. 

Emma SaylES, Teacher of Chemistry, Mathematics 
and the English Language. 

Sarah L. Wvman, Teacher of the Latin Language. 

Caroline H, Metcalp, Teacher of the French and 
English Languages. 

Barbara Grant, Teaclier of Mathematics and 
Chemistry. 

K.\TE Fessenden, Teacher of the French Lan- 
guage. 

Sarah E. Scott, Teacher of Rhetoric and Matiie- 
matics. 

Emii.\' .\. P.RADDOCK, Teacher of the Latin Lan- 
guage. 

Mary Dascomb, Teacher of Mathematics. 

Julia Wiebe, Teacher of Music. 

Emma L. Hopkins, Teacher of Music. 

Caroline S. C. Wiebe, Teacher of Music. 

Sophia L. Curtis, Teacher of Music. 

A. Amelia Judd, Teacher of Music. 

Fanny J. Small, Teacher of Music. 

( )f these the most notable was Maria Mitchell, the 
astronomer, whose discoveries and writings brought 
the college much prominence. 

In the second catalogue appears Leopold \'on Sel- 
deneck, master of horsemanship, Truman J. Backus, 
in place of Henry B. Buckham at the head of the 
English department, Elizabeth M. Powell, physical 
training, and Fannv A. Wood, teacher of music. 



204 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE 



JMiss Wood, now the college librarian, is the only one 
of the original teachers remaining in service. LeRoy 
C. Cooley, now the senior professor, came to V'assar 
College in 1874. 

Matthew Vassar's death occurred dramatically as 
he was reading his annual address to the trustees of 
the college in June, 1868. His birthday, April 29th, 
was first celebrated by the students in 1866, and has 
been observed as Founder's Day ever since. If he 
could return to visit the institution he would find it 
grown far beyond his greatest expectation ; but the 
development of the new Vassar College belongs to 
the next chapter. 

The first bequest to the college was from the will 
of Jacob P. Giraud, who left $30,000 in 1870, to 
found a Museum of Natural History. With this 
fund James Orton, who had become Professor of 
Natural History and Geology in 1868, created the 
Museum and made the collection of South American 
birds, which is still one of its leading features. Charles 
J. Hinkle, about whose memory many stories have 
clustered, became Professor of Ancient and Modern 
Languages in 1868. The office of Master of Horse- 
manship appears last in the catalogue for 1872- 1873, 
and not long after the close of the Riding School the 
building was altered to accommodate the Museum, 
first established in the main building. 

Changes Among tiik City Schools. 

The period beginning with the close of the Civil 
\\'ar was marked by many changes in the schools of 
Poughkeepsie. The public schools, though the amount 
of money appropriated for them seems now ridicu- 
lously small, were gradually gaining, and the private 
schools were beginning to lose ground. It was a 
time of transition from Academies to High Schools 
throughout the State, and the Dutchess County Acad- 
emy felt the force of the movement, which was 
strengthened locally by the passing awa\' or retirement 
of some of the most notable teachers of the previous 
period. 

William McGeorge was succeeded by his son-in- 
law Stewart Pelham in 1864, and though Mr. Pelhani 
was an excellent teacher of the old iiattern, and long 
successful afterwards as proprietor of a private school, 
the Academy lost ground, probably mainly because 
of the establishment of the Free Academy or High 
School in Church Street. The Higii School was dis- 
continued for one year, 1865. after the war, apparently 
as a measure of economy, but the demand for its re- 
cstablishment was strong. The Academy trustees aj)- 
]3reciated the situation and realizing that both institu- 
tions could not continue, did what thev could to fa- 



cilitate their union. In 1866 the .\catlem\- building 
was rented to the city and the High School was re- 
opened there. 

Thus the famous old Academy, after three-quar- 
ters of a century of honorable existence, was finally 
given up, and a few years later the building ceased 
to be used as a school. A demand soon arose for a 
new building in a more central location, and the trus- 
tees, in response to a petition from the citizens, de- 
cided to sell the Academy and donate the proceeds 
to the Board of Education to be used towards the con- 
struction of a High School and Public Librar\-. The 
opportunit}' came in 1870 through the generosit)- of 
Jonathan Warner, who purchased the building and 
founded there the Old Ladies' Home. The Board 
of Education purchased the property on the corner 
of Washington Street and Lafayette Place in March, 
1870, for $13,000, and the High School was opened 
in its present home in April, 1872, having in the mean- 
time found temporary lodgment in the second floor 
of the Mulrein Building, then recently finished on 
Market Street. The city library was removed also 
in 1872 to the lower floor of the High School. 

An equally notable change in the school situation 
was the abandonment of College Hill, another relic 
of the days of the Improvement Party. This did not 
come about from any idea that the location was too 
remote from the city, but simply because the ])roperty 
had to be sold to settle the estate of Charles Bartlett. 
Mr. Otis Bisbee, who was Mr. Bartlett's successor, 
was one of the bidders at the auction, which was con- 
ducted by Henry W. Shaw (Josh Billings), November 
24th, 1865, but had decided not to go above $30,000, 
at which figure the propertv was struck off to George 
Morgan. The school was continued on the hill until 
the spring of 1867, when the new Riverview Academy, 
in the southwestern section of the city was finished. 
In June of that year Mr. Morgan opened the College 
Hill Hotel, which was nol succtssful. in spite of its 
conuiianding location. I'ollowing Dr. Warring, whose 
school on Smith Street was a strong competitor. Mr. 
Ilisbee had introduced military drill several \'ears be- 
fore leaving College Hill. 

Stewart Pelham, the last ]irincipal of the Dutchess 
Count\- AcaiKiiiy, ])urcha.sed a boys' school that had 
been started in Montgomery Street not long before by 
Egbert Carey, and conducted it succi'ssfull\ for ;il)out 
twenty years. Wr took a few boarders, hut it was 
chiefly a day school. Riverview at this time made no 
effort to obtain pui^ils from Poughkeepsie. and Mr. 
Pelham's chief rival was John R. Leslie's school, 
founded just before the war, and afterwards long con- 
ducted by S. II. Bishop in the little building (now 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 



205 



Public School Xo. 7) on Academy Street. Leslie's 
was regarded as rather a select day school. 

.\11 of these, together with Dr. Warriiig's Military 
Institute, flourished until long after 1873, and the 
girls' schools also prospered. Rev. George T. Rider 
succeeded Milo P. Jewett at Cottage Hill, and the Fe- 
male Collegiate Institute was sold in January, 1870, 
by Rev. Mr. Rice to Prof. G. W. Cook. A rather 
notable girls' scliools was started not long after the 
(ipening of A'assar College by Mr. and Mrs. Edward 
White, who erected a building in the southeastern sec- 
tion of the cit\- which Mrs. White named Brooks Sem- 
inary. The competition of the \^assar Preparatory 
Department is said to have caused the failure of this 
school, but the building after an interval of use as a 
hotel and a Vassar dormitory, is again a girls' boarding 
school under the name of Putnam Hall. Many other 
smaller schools, some of which took boarding as well 
as day pupils, flourished for a few years. Dr. Bockee's 
school for girls, next to Pelham Institute on Montgom- 
ery Street, and the Home Institute conducted by the 
Misses Butler, being among the most important. If 
the public schools were generally poorly housed and 
with poor equipment the same was true of many of the 
]irivate schools. A good many children whose parents 
thought it not wise to send them to the public schools 
received the rudiments of their education from Mrs. 
Mary Herrick, whose school was conducted in the 
basement of one of the little houses (No. 28) still 
standing on the east side of South Hamilton Street, 
between Church and Cannon. Miss Powers conducted 
another primary school in the little building on the east 
side of Academy Street, said to have been once the old 
village market. The little building on the east side of 
Garden Street, north of Mill, next to what is generally 
called tlu' Lossing House, was a school for a number 
of years, but is said to have been built for a law of- 
fice. 

Politics. 

Like the County of Dutchess, Poughkecpsie has 
nearly always been Republican in politics. The city 
has ne\er been carried by a Democratic presidential 
candidate, though Horace Greeley came within eleven 
votes of it in 1872. Greeley's vote was in part due 
to the so-called Liberal movement, of which there 
were some devotees here, but much more to the no- 
torious campaign of John O. Whitehouse for Con- 
gress against General Ketcham, when money was more 
freely spent than at any previous or subsequent elec- 
tion. Whitehouse carried the city b\- 379 majority, 
and the county by 892. The price of votes is said to 
have reached as high as $50. Lour years earlier, in 



1868, General Grant had received a majority in the 
city of 307. Some of the elections of the "off years" 
deserve mention, especially that of 1867, when Judge 
Homer A. Nelson headed the Democratic State ticket 
and was elected Secretary of State, though he could 
not quite overcome the natural Republican majority of 
his own city. The result in Dutchess County was 
somewhat mixed. Mark D. Wilber, then a Republi- 
can, who had represented the Second District in the 
Assembly in 1865 and 1866. was defeated by .\. T. 
Ackert (Dcni.), but Abiah W. Palmer, of Amcnia, 
was elected Senator, and Puughkeepsie Republicans 
were elected to leading county offices — Richard Ken- 
worthy, Sheriff : William I. Thorn, District Attorney 
(against D. W. Guernsey): .\llard Anthony, County 
Judge, and Milton A. Fowler, Surrogate. Mr. Fowler 
was a resident of Fishkill when elected, but thereafter 
made Poughkeepsie his home. As Surrogate he fol- 
lowed, and was succeeded by, Peter Dorland, of Fi.sh- 
kill, father of Cyrenus P. Dorland, who also has 
served two terms in the same office. In the spring of 
1867, as already stated, George Innis had been re 
elected mayor for a third term, without opposition, 
and at the special election for delegates to the Consti- 
tutional Convention of that year B. Piatt Carpenter 
had been chosen. Robert F. Taylor, who had been 
City Chamberlain throughout the war, was at this 
time serving a series of terms as Recorder, and headed 
the city ticket of the Republicans in off years. He 
was succeeded as Chamberlain in 1865 by Joseph G. 
Frost, among whose duties was the destruction of the 
shinplasters issued by the city during the war. These 
he took to the top of Paltz Point (Sky Top), near 
Lake Mohonk, then just beginning to attract attention 
as a place of resort, and there burned them. 

The Daily Ne'cvs was established as an independent 
morning paper May 4th, 1868, by Thomas G. Nich- 
ols, mentioned in Chapter VII as the founder of 
the Daily Press. The Xcccs was first published in the 
old Morris Building, where the Poughkcepsiaii had 
been printed, next to the Poughkeepsie Bank, and the 
building was partially destroyed by fire in .\pril, 1869. 
In July, 1871, Mr. Nichols sold the paper to Wallace 
W. Hegeman and Edwin J. \\'ilber. who conducted it 
as a Republican paper until the fall of 1872, wdien Mr. 
\Miitehouse bought it to boom his campaign for Con- 
gress, putting in Cyrus Macy as editor. Mr. Nichols, 
the same year. December 15th. 1872, started a third 
paper. The Sunday Courier, which he continued to 
manage up to within a short time of his death. This 
paper has remained independent in politics, and un- 
der its present editor. .\. G. Tobey, has been greatl}- 
increased in size and in circulation. 



20ti 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 



Before the Xcws had become a Deinocralie paper 
the pohtical pendukini had been swinging away from 
the RepubHcans, and in 1.S69 the eity elected its first 
Democratic Mayor, George Morgan, who defeated 
Robert Slee by 104 votes. He had purchased the 
Gregory House from Theodorus Gregory in 1865. 
and renamed it the Morgan House, and was one df 
the leaders of the enterprises of the day. In the fall 
of 1869 he was elected State Senator, and held both 
offices to the expiration of their terms. 

In 1 87 1 the city returned to Republican rule and 
H. G. Eastman was elected Mayor with a majority 
of 998 votes over Abraham Wright. At the same 
election Robert H. Hunter defeated James L. Wil- 
liams for Justice of the Peace by a majority of 1,074. 
and this was almost the first appearance of these two 
well-known leaders in politics. Captain William Hau- 
bennestel w^as elected Assessor at the same time. 

This was the year of the New Hamburgh disaster, 
the investigation of which, conducted by Tristram 
Coffin as District Attorney before Coroner Charles 
H. Andrus, absorbed public attention for many weeks. 
The accident happened on February 6th. The axle 
of a car on a south bound oil train broke and the car 
fell over on the New Hamburgh draw-bridge. The 
Pacific Express, north bound, ran into the oil car, 
scattering the oil in all directions, and setting fire to 
the passenger coaches. Nineteen persons were killed, 
and many injured. The coroner's jury was John N. 
Candee, William W. Smith. Paul Flagler, Henry A. 
Sutherland, Eli Sutcliff and P.enjamin Yiiu Eoan. 

Mr. Whitehonse made strenuous efiforts to defeat 
Mavor l^aslman in 1873. nominating Leonard IS. 
Sackett against him. but Eastman had a majority of 
30.V This was the last si)ring election, and beginning 
with 1S74 city elections were held the first Tuesday in 
r)eceniber. 

Ciiri<c'iii;s, CiiAkiTAi;!.!', a.nd Kici.iciors Ixstitl'- 

TIONS. 

The winter and spring of iSr/i was marked by a 
notable religious revival, whieb lieg.m with a series 
of meetings in the Young .Men's C'hri>li;ni Associa- 
tion rooms, corner of Market and Main Slreets. ;m(l 
spread to mo.st of the churches. .\n article in the 
Hiii^lc early in April stated that 153 persons had been 
admitted to full membership in the Washington 
Street Methodist Church, with ;is ni.iny more on jiro- 
bation, that there had Iieen fifty or sixty conversions 
in the Presbyterian Church, lh;it forty h;id joined the 
iMrst Reformed Church on the Sinuliy iireceding. 
that about twenty-four additions had bci'n made to thi' 
Central P.ainist church, and twent\ to tlu' Cannon 
Street Methoclist Church, with nioiv than usual addi- 



tions to all other churches. The Young Men's Chris- 
tian Association was so much strengthened that in 
January of the next year it made application for in- 
corporation, and soon afterwards began to look about 
for larger quarters. The trustees named were Abra- 
ham Wiltsie, S. M. P.uckingham, John 1'. Adiiance, 
J. Ci. 15o\-d, 1). R. Thompson and Leonard C. Wins- 
low. When the completion and opening of the Opera 
House in 1869 deprived Pine Hall of its prestige as a 
l)lace of entertainment the members of the Associa- 
tion began to consider the question of its purchase and 
alteration, and though their resources were compara- 
tively small and they had few wealthy backers, they at 
length determined upon the venture. Possession was 
given in 1 87 1 and in January, 1872, the galleries, stage 
etc. of the old hall were removed, a third floor was 
laid, dividing it into two stories, in which rcioms were 
formed substantially as they are at the present time. 

The first church erected after the war was the 
Cierman Lutheran in ('.rand Street, dedicated October 
I4tli. 1S66, and marking the building up of the sec- 
tion near it witii the homes of German settlers. 
The east side of Grand Street up to this time and 
some of it much later was nearly all owned by the 
Eniott and Hooker estates, both these fine old places 
extending through with elaborate gardens in the rear. 

The second and only other church built during 
this [K-riod was the new St. Paul's, and it is a note- 
worthy coincidence that this church, started as a part 
of the real estate boom of the Improvement Parly in 
the 30's, should have been rebuilt during a time of 
real estate activity very nnieh like the first. The 
present church was finished and o|H'iied in May, 187J, 
during the rcctorshi]) of Rev, .^. II. Synnott (now 
rector of a clmrcli at Ithaca. X. Y.). Mrs, Winthrop 
.\t\\ill, of .Mansion ."^(luare. made the erection of the 
new building i>ossible l)y a donation of $10,000. and 
afterwards added considerably to this amount. The 
architect was lunlen T. Littell, of .Xew ^'ork. ami the 
cost $30,000. 

The ]irosperity of the city and the abundance of 
work greatly increased the i\onian Catholic ])opula- 
tion of the cil\, and altho\igh St, Peter's Church was 
enlarged, another congregation liecmie necessarv , and 
in 1S73 ,Sl, Mary's Church was organized by Ke\-, 
Ivlward AlcSweeny, an<l purchased the old church in 
Cannon Street, so often mentioned in tilese pages, 
Eastman Col'ege had by this tinu' contracted enough 
t<i be accommodated in the old Methodist Chm-ch on 
Washington Street, 

The \ear 1867 was niarkeil by the union of the 
two Paptist congregations, who w ■ irship])ed thereafter 
in tlu' Lafa\-ette Place Church until the building of the 
new ,Mill Stri'et church in 1871), In 1867 ;d.sn the 



HISTORY OF POUCH KBBPSIE. 



207 




Dr. KDWARI) H. PARKER. 
(.Sir Appendix for biographical sketch. \ 



two present Puughkcepsie ministers who have Ix'cn 
lons^cst in service here were installed, Rev. A. T'. 
\'an (liescin at the First Reformed (Dutch) (.'lunch 
and Rev. Robert Fulton Crary at the Church of the 
Holy Comforter. Both of them soon became and 
remained important forces in the life of the city. 

The charitable institutions established at this 
time were the House of Industry, the St. liarnabas 
Hosiiital and the Old Ladies' Honie. The first of 
these was an outgrowth of the woman's association 
formed during the war for the relief of the wives and 
widows of soldiers. It was organized in the fall of 
1865 with Alary Ferris, president. Julia M. Crosby, 
secretary, and Sarah Bowne, treasurer. In 1873 it 
was able to purchase a house in Liberty Street, which 
it still occupies, conducting a modest little store for 
the sale of the handiwork of its beneficiaries. Its 
aim has been to promote independence and self-sup- 
port as well as to furnish relief, and every winter it 
provides remunerative labor, mostly plain sewing, to 



many applicants. From time to time it has conducted 
sewing classes for the children of the poor, and has in 
many ways endeavored to help its beneficiaries to learn 
to depend upon themselves. 

St. Barnabas Hospital, incor]>orated March i»)th, 
1 871, was started by Dr. Edward II. Parker, one of the 
leading physicians of his day and noted also as the 
author of the widely-quoted poem "Life's Race Well 
Won." The first trustees were Rev. P. K. Cady, rec- 
tor of Christ Church, Rev. R. F. Crary. of the Church 
of the Holy Comforter, Rev. S. IT. Synnott, of St. 
Paul's Church, Wm. A. Davies, S. M. Buckingham, 
R. Sanford. Dr. K. H. Parker, Benjamin Van Loan, 
and Winthrop Atwill. The hospital was first opened 
in Garden Street, then in 1873 was transferred to 
108 North Clinton Street, which was purchased for 
$5,200. Although St. Barnabas Hospital was aban- 
doned when Vassar Hospital was opened, the organiza- 
tion is still in existence as the custodian of funds used 
for the relief of tlie needv sick at their homes. 



208 



HISTORY OF POUGHKBEPSIE 



The Old Ladies' Home has already been men- 
tioned in connection with the passing of the Dutchess 
County Academy. The building was purchased by 
Jonathan Warner for $14,000. and he also started the 
endowment fund with a contribution of $10,000. Mr. 
Warner was a member of the old Poughkeepsie War- 
ner family,' and had returned here to live after mak- 
ing a modest fortune elsewhere. The Home was in- 
corporated December i, 1870, with the following trus- 
tees : Jonathan Warner, George Van Kleeck, and 
Charles W. Swift, of the Reformed Church ; James 
H. Dudley and Abraham W'iltsic. of the Congrega- 
tional Church ; Matthew Vassar, Jr.. and John F. Hull, 
of the Baptist Church ; Stephen M. Buckingham and 
Edgar M. \zn Kleeck, of the Episcopal Church ; W'il- 
liam W. Reynolds and Albert B. Harvey, of the 
Methodist Church ; Joseph Flagler and George Corlies 
of the Friends Society. 

The building was of course considerably altered 
for its new use, but the ouly change in its external 
appearance was the veranda in front of the second 
floor. 

Tin: Hudson Ri\"Kk vStati-: IIosi'ital. 

The erection of a State Hospital for the Insane 
somewhere along the Hudson River was authorized by 
the Legislature in 1S66, but its location was left to a 
commission with power to obtain the most advan- 
tageous terms from the rival counties. It was brought 
to Poughkeepsie only after a considerable struggle 
on tile part of the enterprising men of the day. When 
the Dutchess County Supervisors met in November 
the contest had narrowed down to Poughkeepsie and 
Xewburgh. The site most favorably considered coin- 
])rised two hundred acres belonging to James Roose- 
velt, about a mile north of the city. The city and 
county were asked to ])ay .$_V''<'<''~' towards its purchase 
and ou Xoveniber l^tb a ]iaper, signed by .Mayor In- 
nis, the aldernieii and a eoiiiiiiittet' of citizens who 
pledged themselves to raise this aniount, was sub- 
mitted to the Supervisors, who were asked to issue 
county bonds for two-fifths of the aiiiount. The al- 
dermen who signed this i)ai)er were S. B. Wheeler. 
Sidney Fowler, Daniel ClitTord, Robert Slee. Dsear 
A. Fowler. William Shields. J.isr|.li H. .Marshall. K. 
P. Bogardus. 1'. ('.. Beiieway and Saiiiiu-1 Tiitliill. and 
the citizens Cornelius Dullois. !'>. J. Lossing, George 
Corlies, E. L. BeadU-. I. 1'. II. Tallman and George 
Innis. 

The Board of Supervisors passed a resolution De- 

'Sce page 67. One of Jonathan Warner's sisters married 
Henry Swift, the well known attorney mentioned several 
times in Chapters VI and VII, 



ceniber 4th, to issue $i2.coo of county bonds, but 
Orange County raised its offer, and after overcoming 
considerable opposition from Fishkill and other towns 
whose Supervisors did not see how their sections could 
be benefited, the board reconsidered its action and 
voted to issue bonds for two-fifths of the amount need- 
ed, "said two-fifths not to exceed $34,000." The ex- 
penses of the site were stated to be $80,000. By the 
time it had been definitely ascertained that the re- 
quired amount would be raised it was too late on Sat- 
urday afternoon, December 29th, to catch a train for 
Newburgh. where the commission was in session, 
and about to decide the question of location. Nothing 
daunted, a telegram was sent asking the commission 
to wait for the arrival of a committee from Pough- 
keepsie. George Morgan brought out two of his 
"quick steppers," and a two-seated sleigh, and with 
John P. H. Tallman. .Mderman Slee and George W. 
Davids, began at 6 p. m. a memorable drive to New- 
burgh. !Mr. Davids, describing it a day or two later, 
wrote: "The night was a terrible one. the wind blow- 
ing a perfect hurricane and the snow drifting heavilv. 
Twice we got off the road, the snow blinding us in 
such a manner, and the track blown so full, that it 
was utterly impossible in some places to find the 
wa\.'' 

Reaching Fishkill Landing after 9 o'clock they 
found that the ferry had ceased its regular trips and was 
only running occasionally to keep the ice from block- 
ing it. The captain was at length found and informed 
the party that he would probablv start in about an 
hour. "He was persuaded to go at once." Mr. 
Davids does not mention the jiersuasive force, but the 
story afterwards told placed it at $50. The commis- 
sion had about given up the Poughkeepsie committee 
when they finally arrived, and after a conference last- 
ing until I a. m. at the ( )range Hotel, Poughkeepsie 
secured the prize. 

Work bei^aii at llu' h(jspital site the following 
suniiiHT, and in 187 1 a part of tlie main building was 
opened. Ill June. 1872, sixty [lalients were reported 
and a large amount of work was still in progress. 
The vState Hospital has been constantly increased in 
size until now it has a population of something over 
2,000 ])atients. Tlir iiioiie\ disbursed to laboring men 
in its construction has been a factor of importance 
in local business, and its large force of physicians, 
nurses and attendants add much to the life of the city. 
Dr. Joseph M. Cleavclaud was made the superinten- 
dent at tlu' opening and remained until about ten 
years ago. wlini he w;is siicec'edrd bx 1 'r. Charles W. 
Pilgrim. The first board of managers, in 1867, was 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE 



209 



Dr. Charles R. A.yiicw and Dr. A. Cook Hull, of New- 
York, State Treasurer William A. Howland, of Mat- 
teavvan, Mayor George Clark, of Newburgli, Hon. A. 
W. Palmer, of Amenia, Dr. Bedell and Cornelius Du- 
Bois. of Poughkeepsie. The architects were \ aux, 
Withers & Co.. of New York. 

Ma.\iu".\cturi\g .\xi) Otiiivu Industries. 

Naturally during this period all local manfacturing 
industries that survived the war were prosperous and 
many new ones were started, some of which survived 
the panic of 1873, and have continued to increase in 
importance. The sash, blind and door manufacture 
and the wheelbarrow industries are among these. 
There were sash and blind manufactories before the 
war, William P.eartlsley being one of the pioneers. 
Swart & Lunib began the sash and blind business in 
1866 on North Water Street, where it is still carried 
on by George A\'. Lumb' & Si->n. The lA-\'i Lunib 
factory, opposite the railroad station on Main Street, 
is a later offshoot from the same business. William 



wf^ 


IH 


\ 




p»%^ 




*- 


^^^^^^H 




1 



THOMAS MeW HINNll.. 

Harloe began making wheelbarrows in South Water 
Street in 1865 and in 1869 the factory came into pos- 
session of the present proprietor, Thomas McWhin- 
nie.- The Barratt paper factory started in 1866 in 
the Red ]\Iills and afterwards moved to Rose Street. 

One of the new industries from which great things 
were expected but in which many Poughkeepsie peo- 
ple lost money was the Eureka Mowing Machine Com- 

1 For biographical sketch see Appendi.x. 
-Soc .Appendix. 



pany, also located in the Red Mills buildings. John 
D. Wilber was the inventor of the Eureka and its 
chief promoter was his brother, Mark D. Wilber. Its 
capital was $300,000, and the officers in March. 1S70, 
when the company started business, were : Isaac W. 
\Miite, president ; M. D. Wilber, vice-president ; W. 
W. Hegeman, secretary ; F. K. Stevens, treasurer ; 
John D. Wilber. superintendent. Directors : Isaac 
W. White. C. S. Win Wyck. \\\ W. Hegeman, Milton 
A. Fowler. Francis K. Stevens, Nathaniel Lamoree, 
John 1). Willier, I'.lias S. DeGarmo, Christo])her 
Hughes, Robert .Sanfunl. Thomas Doty. Paul Flag- 
ler and M. D. \\'ilber. The Eureka Mower was 
built upon a new principle, cutting by direct draft be- 
hind the horses, which were driven wide apart, one of 
them walking in the standing grass. The cut grass 
w-as left untouched, and the claim was made that it 
w'ould cure more quickly and evenly than grass cut by 
other machines. 

Another important enterprise that failed was The 
Hudson River Iron Company, incorporated in 1872 
with a capital of $400,000. Its officers at the perma- 
nent organization in August of that year were : Rich- 
ard P. Bruff, president; Thomas S. Lloyd, vice-presi- 
dent, and George Parker, secretary. The first named 
was described as "of the firm of Russell & Erwin, 
manufacturers," and the last tw-o of Poughkeepsie. 
The company projected a large plant to include rolling 
mills and blast furnaces, and purchased the old Liv- 
ingston place south of the city, the last of Colonel 
Henry A. Livingston's daughters having died a few- 
years before. The rolling mill and puddling furnaces 
were erected and in operation before the panic, but the 
company was not able to carry out all its plans. 

A much greater factor in the prosperity of Pough- 
keepsie for many years was the Whitehouse Shoe Fac- 
tory, the contract for the erection of which was given 
in December, 1870, to J. I. \^ail. Mr. Whitehouse, as 
alreadv stated, was the owner of shoe factories else- 
where and with an established reputation his Pough- 
keepsie factory w-as .soon employing a large number of 
hands. The original buildings were struck by light- 
ning and burned in 1879, but were rebuilt, and are 
now in the possession of the American Cigar Com- 
pany, the shoe business having declined after the 
death of Mr. Whitehouse. as explained in the next 
chapter. 

Minor establishments of this period were the Al- 
bertson Edge Tool Works, started in 1868 opposite 
the gas w-orks in Bayeaux Street, by B. Albertson, and 
the plow factory incorporated in 1870 by C. W. Swift, 
William .-\. Davies, George Innis, John F. Winslow . 



210 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 



J. O. Whitehousc. M. \'assar, Jr., ]{. L. Ilcadk'. 

F. W. I'lii^'sU'v. v"^. M. r.iu-kin.-liain, Isaac Piatt Smith, 
John Brill and Jnhn T. I liicii)cr. This ct)mpaiiy manu- 
factured the L. Green patent plow at the old Coffin 
foundry, corner of Mill and Delafield Streets, near 
where Xo. 4 Engine House now stands, hut in spite of 
the array of prominent men among its incorporators 
was never a very conspicuous success. 

Some local industries that have heen curtailed l)y 
the com])etition of the \\'cst. or hy that of greater 
and more favorahly located establishments were ap- 
parentl}- at the height of their prosperity before 1873. 
The wagon and chair making, and cooperage indus- 
tries were among these. The Chichester Chair Fac- 
tory, on South Front Street, was one of the chief es- 
tablishments of the kind in Poughkeepsie. and the 
building of ;i railroad fnmi Kingston inti.i the Cats- 
kill Mountains brought new sources of supply of suit- 
able materials, and also caused the establishment of a 
plant at Chichester, where a number of Poughkeepsie 
men found employment, and from which they occa- 
sionally contributed accoimts of their adxentures with 
bears and wildcats to the Poughkeepsie newspapers. 
The Chichester factory was once or twice burned and 
rebuilt. 

Along the river front the era of r,iilrii;iil building. 
which reached its climax between iSjo and 1S73. was 
beginning to make changes. The lludson River Rail- 
road was double-tracked from Poughkeepsie to .\1- 
l)an\- soon after the war and freight rates from the 
West began to I'all. W. W. Reynolds & S.m gave 
U]i running a steamboat to Alb.-my and in 1S71 built 
their brick warehouse and elevator o])|)osite the rail- 
road station, abandoning the river as a means of ob- 
taining western grain and Hour. William T. Rey- 
nolds,' now the senior member of the firm, had been 
a p.'irtner in the business since i860. The three com- 
peting firms nmning fri-igbt boats to .\'ew ^ orl< had 
begun to show signs of a])proaching consolidation 
;ibont 18(17. when the I'pi'cr and Main Street I.aniling 
tinns bought the Fower Landing. The ste,-inilin,its 
1 lasbrouck and Miller had been built in 1S62 and 
1864, to take the places of the boats sold to the gov- 
ernment during the war. The former was nnuiing 
from the r]i]ier Fanding and tlu' latter from Main 
Street. The steamer Tr-ansit b;id been nmning from 
the Lower Landing unck'r the management of John 
IF Mathews, and when the atteiupt was made to 
close this landing a new firm was organized, with Isaac 

G. Sands, Joel Winans, James Collingwood and Pat- 
rick Mclntyrc as partners, in May, 1867, to take the 

'For biographical sketch see Appendix. 



boat and run it from tile cild .Southwick dock, next 
north of the former landing place. This competition 
was apparentlx not \ery successful, and in 1871 
Doughty, Corntll & Co.. of the l'pi)er Landing, and 
Gaylord. l)oiy i\: Co.. of .Main Street, were in combi- 
nation to serve the Lower Landing by leaving the Has- 
brouck or !\liller there a part of each day for freight. 
In 1S72 the Fower I^anding was abandoneil entirely. 
'" ^^7i Joseph C. Doughty, of the F'piier Fanding 
firm, died and his interest was inirchased by Homer 
Ramsdell, of Newluirgb, who formed the Poughkeep- 
sie Transportation Coiii])any. ]nitting both boats in 
ser\-ice from Main Street the ne.xt year. 

CjKowtii .\m) .Mu.xicii'ai. F\ii'ko\i;-\ii;xt — Tiiic 

W.\TKR AND SlCWEK SVSTICMS. 

From 1865 to 1870 the population of Poughkeep- 
sie increased twenty -five per cent, a rate luore rapid 
than for any ]irevious half decade. The census figures 
for 1865 were 16.073 and for 1870, 20,088. Some 
doubt has been thrown upon the accuracy of the fig- 
ures for 1870, because of the difficulty of increasing 
them in subsequent census years. It has been said 
that the census of 1870 was padded in order to obtain 
free ])ost;il delix'ery. ami the tigures were certainly 
rather surprisingly large. Said the liai^lc in vSeplem- 
ber, 1870: "Few, however, of our citizens supposed 
we could reach 20.000, and the result is all the more 
gratifying because unexpected." Possibly some por- 
tion of the large transient ]ioinilation of students may 
Iiax'e been counted — the rvd] population was at that 
time 1. 200 or 1,500 more than the legal population, and 
the number of jieople actually living in 1 'oiighkee])sie 
since the war has alw.ays bet'ti considi'rably greater 
than the census figures h;ne shown. 

It seems strange that the cit\ could have got along 
without a wali'r supply suitable for household use up 
to this time. The matter h;id several times been con- 
sidered, but ex'euts had conspired to postpone action. 
In 1835 James I'.mott. 1 leiu'x D. \ arick .-lud William 
II. Tallmadge, aiijxiinted by the (."ommon C'onncil. 
empkned an engineer to examine all available .sources 
of supply, and published an interesting report in which 
the\ favoreil ".Morgan's Pond," which was not Mor- 
g;m Lake, but the old mill ]iond referreil to in earlier 
chapters and now called X'assar College L.ake. Ilas- 
ing their calculations on an average daily i)er capita 
coiisum])tion of 35 gallons, and allowing for an in- 
crease of ])o])ulation <if 15 iKT cent every five years, 
the committee estimated tli.it this body of "pure 
s])ring water" would su|)])ly the city's needs until 1880 
;it least. It was perhai)s fortunate tb.at the panic of 




WILLIAM T. RKYXOLDS. 



212 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEBPSIB. 



1857 aiul the war i^revcntcd the carrying out of these 
plans. 

Soon after the war the matter came up again, and 
an act providing for a board of water commissioners, 
with power to Ijorrow $200,000, was jiassed in 1867. 
.\gain financial stringency caused delay and in 1869 
another act was passed by the Legislature, naming 
Dr. Edward L. Beadle, Stephen ]\I. Buckingham, Ed- 
ward Storm, Abraham Wright, Edgar M. Van Kleeck 
and James H. Weeks as commissioners, with authority 
to borrow money, if a taxpayers' vote, to be held Julv 
13th, should be favorable. Then be.gan a series of 
public meetings, two of which were held in the Opera 
House, at which Mr. Eastman, Assemblyman W. W. 
Hegeman, Judge Allard Anthony and Mayor Clark, 
of Newburgh, were among the chief speakers. One 
gathers from some of the speeches that Poughkeei)sie 
had a rather unpleasant reputation for fevers at that 
time. Mr. Hegeman said, "He did not believe there 
was a natural well in Poughkeepsie that was fit for 
use for family purposes," and Mr. Eastman said that 
when he was e.xijatiating upon the advantages of 
Poughkeepsie in New York he was frequently met 
with the statement that Poughkeepsie had fine schools, 
churches, etc., "but, oh, how sickly!" The taxpayers 
were all but unanimous at the special election, voting 
544 for water, and only 43 against. Mayor Morgan 
was given a good deal of credit for the result, and 
when the votes had been counted he was serenaded at 
his home at College Hill Hotel. It was somewhere 
about this time that he constructed Morgan Lake, on 
the east side of College Hill, for the purpose, it is 
said, of selling it to the city as a part of its water sup- 
ply. 

The board organized l)y electing W. P>eadle presi- 
dent, and eni])loyed J. li. C. Rand as engineer, asso- 
ciating Theodore W. Davis, son of Frederick Davis, 
cashier of the Farmers' and ManufactiuTrs' P.ank, 
and James P. Kirkwood. of New York-, with liini. 
Kirkwood was a well-known engineer and a sjiecialist 
in the installation of water supplies. IK- liad \isited 
and studied the water supply systems abroad, and was 
particularly familiar with tlie systems of slow filtra- 
tion through sand employed \)\ some of tin- wafer 
companies at London, England, it was on his .-nI- 
vice that the Hudson River was selected as the source 
of supply, after a careful examination of tlu- k'.-dl Kill 
and Wappingcrs. with tin- installation of a system of 
slow sand filtration. 

Tile two filters constructed by John SutclifiFe' af 
thai lime at the pumping station, on land previouslv 

'For liiograpliical sketch see Appendix. 



belonging to the Swain estate, a mile north of the city, 
were the first of tlieir kind in the country, and are 
aljinit the only filters wliicii iiave survived all changes 
of expert opinion from that day to this. They have 
been continuously in service imtil the close of the 
year 1904. and during kjos will lie reconstructed and 
covered. Originallv expected onl\- to clarify the water. 




/■/;,■ /■y/Av /:,(h. photoi^raphcd about /S/-;. 

they have been found ecjually serviceable in the re- 
moval of harmful bacteria. The choice of James P. 
Kirkwood as a consulting engineer in 1870 was, there- 
fore, an exceedingly fortunate one. The pumps were 
started for trial July 4th, 1872, but it was not until 
several months later that the first water taji was put 
in to serve the house of the iiresident of the water 
lioard, ^\v. Edward Storm, in South l,il)erty Street. 
Physicians, like Robert K. Tuthill, wlio remember 
tlie conditions preceding the introduction of the water 
supply testify that the liealth of the city was consider- 
al)l\- inipiMved In it, thi'Ugh the prejudice against the 
river water was so strong that wells and cisterns were 
abandoned by very slow degrees. Theodore \^^ 
Davis remained in charge of the water and sewer 
systems until iXSi. when he was succeeded by tjie 
present City Engiui'er, Charles E. Fowler. 

'i'lie installation of llu' \\ater and sewerage systems 
was the most notable ]inl>lic improvement of the 
peridd, but the l'"all Kill imprn\ement was also a great 
and ver\- eNjiensive eliange, and destroyed almost en- 
tiri'ly the old-time usefulness of the stream for water 
powei'. I'elton's I'ond, earlier I'.ooth's, was the only 
one left, and e\en its area was greatly restricted. Its 
wati'rs once extended across what is now Duane 
Street, and on the early maps it is called "The Great 
Ri'st'rvoir." Tin- size of this jiond w-as cut down again 
in 1S84. ,-md it was finally filled in. when the dam was 
taken diiwn in 1800. \'of far .nbi ive it was "Swift's 
I'iMid." which furnished jiower for the old factory 
at the end of Charles Street. This ])ond was some- 




JOHN SUTCLIFl-E. 



214 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIB. 



times called by the Ixiys "The I'aptiser" from some 
former use as a place of immersion liy the Baptists. 
Above Washing-ton Street anil I'xtendinsj; to Garden 
was I'arker's ^[itl Pond. C.arden Street had been 
ijiven its eastward l)end from the corner of High 
Street to get around this pond, the upper end of 
which was most of the time a swamp and the stream 
emjnied intu the ixMid a hundred feet or more north 
of the ijrt-sent bridge. The Parker Alill had been 
burned a short time befure the pond was filled up and 
the new mill was built nut lung afterwards, on tlie 
east side of Garden Street, where i)art of its ruins are 
incorporated into the building nf tlu' ll\ge:a Ice Com- 
pany. Next to Pelton's the mo^t important of the 
storage ])onds was Lent's, nv the Winnikee (originally 
Crannell's),' which furnished power for the Red Mills. 
Dv 1870 all of these water powers had decreased con- 
siderably in value and steam had come to be regarded 
as the only reliable force for driving machinery, but 
the owners of the jxinds nevertheless received big 
damages from the city. In the repnrt of the City 
Treasurer for the year 1S71 the cdsl of walling and 
filling in the ]ionds was given as follows. 

Lenfs Pond $.21 .41 5 9° 

Parker's Pond 20.597 39 

Swift's Pond 8.817 61 

1 'elton's Pond 21 .776 08 

The cost of the water works up to the beginning 
of the year 1873 was $4^7.^08.45. <d the Fall Kill im- 
provement and draining the mill ponds. $114,923.40. 
and of the sewers $2r)3.35o.7r). The Fall Kill im- 
l)rovement was a pul^lic health measure. l)ut it was a 
mistake to undertake it along with tin- water works, 
when all prices were high, and with interest at seven 
]>er cent. The rate of inti'rest does not seem to have 
been considerecl at a'l. ;md i>r<ibably few people had 
an\ idea the time would come when the city coulil bor- 
row at less than half the nite then ]}revailing. X'or 
were tlu-se twn works of municipal necessity the only 
causes of the great debt under which the city so long 
staggered. .\t about the same time $600,000 in city 
bonds was ])ledged for tlu' building of the Pough- 
keejjsie and h'.astern Railr(j;id. 

Till- Pofcii Ki-:i:fsii". .\Ni) K.\STKRx .wd City Pv.mi.- 

KO.\I)S. 

X'arious attemins to revive the i)roject of 1832 for 
a railroad eastw.ard from Poughkeepsie have already 
been mentioned. It came up with every i)eriod of 
good times, was urged in the newspajjers and at meet- 
ings both in the city and county. During and after 

■See pp. 30 and 31. 



the war the iron mines in northeastern Dutchess and 
in western Connecticut were worked at a good profit, 
as were also the blast furnaces at Poughkeepsie. 
Most of the Harlem valley ore was smelted in char- 
coal furnaces in the neighborhood and shipped to 
Xew ^'ork bv the llarlem Railroad, but as wood be- 
gan to grow more scarce an outlet to the Hudson 
l\i\-er was sought. an<l in 18^)3 the mine owners btiilt 
a (liece of track about ti\e miles long from the neigh- 
borhood of I'.oston Corners and announced that they 
would e.xlend it to Pine Plains, there to await the de- 
cision of the rival schemes for a river terminus. "Will 
Poughkeepsie sleep and lose this grand prize?" asked 
the Eoi^lc of November i8th. "Will you co-operate 
with the country and regain the trade of all that sec- 
tion of country which wishes to again come heri\ or 
will you disri'gard the opportunity?" Mark 1). Wib 
her. then just elected Member of Assembly, was a 
strenuous ad\ocate of the Poughkeepsie terminus, and 
so were Mayor Innis and H. G. Eastman, but the op- 
portunit\ was nevertheless disregarded at the critical 
time. Poughkeepsie capitalists were not at all sure 
they wanted to build to Pine Plains. It was a time 
of great jH-osperily among the farmers of Dutchess, 
and the en'istnu'ni of their capital seemed the princi- 
pal thing to be considered. The question of the east- 
ern terminus was almost as complicated, viewed from 
I\iughkeeixsie. ;is the western terminus was when 
viewed from the interior. Farmers from all the 
southern secli<in, ami from Hart's \'illage eastward, 
seemed to favor ,a railroa<l to Fishkill. and m:m\' 
Poughkeepsie ]ieo|ile thought that they could be won 
over by building through the neighborhood of the 
Dutchess Turnpike to ,\menia and Sharon, a section 
generalK' much better known here than that from I'ine 
Plains to IJoston Corners. Wassaic was also fre- 
(lueiith mentioned, though the several iireliminary snr- 
\e\s alw;i\s cnrried the load uortluvard to the neigh- 
borhood of Coii,'d<e or I'.oston Corners. .\s a result 
of ;i few enthusi.istic meetings at Washington Hollow 
and t-lsewhere. P. P. Dickinson made a sur\ey and his 
re|)ort. publisheil in l'"ebrn;ir\ . iSod, ciint.ains some in- 
teresting items. The total cost was estimated as 
,$1,002,206.00. the chief items of which were: 

Graduation of ro;ul $33^-iOi'^ '« 

Track su]>erstn:ctui-e ?,.V'^)7'' ^^ 

Right oi way and fencing 5.v"40 "« 

Salaries, oflici' rents, etc.. during con- 
struction 20.000 00 

b'or |)urchase of 4' j miles of railroad of 

Columbia Co. Iron Mining Co (15. 000 00 

Locomotives, cars, fools, etc 157.000 00 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 



215 



Among- the estimated annual rccei])ts were: 

Transportation of milk 58,400 00 

Transportation of liay 32,000 00 

Transportation of iron ore 87,000 00 

Passengers' fares 41-558 40 

The name "Poughkeepsie and Eastern"' seems to 
have originated with the Bailie, which said on Janu- 
ary 20th, 1866, "We have heretofore, in speaking of 
the railroad from this cit\ to Ci)|)ake and Boston 
Corners, called it 'The Poughkeepsie and Copake 
Railroad." " Continuing, the article mentions the 
probability of the extension of the railroad to Salis- 
bury and Falls \'illage, in Connecticut, or to C.reat 
Piarrington, in Massachusetts, and concludes with the 
statement that the Eagle would hereafter name the 
road The Poughkeepsie and Eastern "unless the com- 
pany when finally incorporated shall decide to give it 
another." 

The incorporation was completed in April with 
the following directors: George Innis, Isaac Piatt. 
James G. Wood. George Morgan, Harvey G. Eastman, 
and Robert F. Wilkinson, of Poughkeepsie ; Pomeroy 
P. Dickinson, liirdsall Cornell and William Corwin. 
of New York; William Eno, Pine Plains; Piatt G. 
\ an \ liet and Stephen T. Angell, Pleasant \'alley ; 
James M. Welling, Washington; Elihu Griffin, Clin- 
ton ; Isaac Carpenter, .Stanford ; George Peasley and 
Conrad Xiver, Ancram. .\t a meeting on April 28th, 
George Innis was elected President; George Morgan. 
Vice-President ; Isaac G. Sands, Treasurer ; Robert F. 
Wilkinson. Secretary; Mark D. Wilber, Attorney, and 
P. P. Dickinson, Chief Engineer. 

The campaign of meetings continued and the chief 
efforts seem to have been still directed towards the 
farmers. Ma}or Innis, Mark D. Wilber, II. G. East- 
man and Isaac Piatt were nearly always among the 
speakers at these meetings and occasionally others, in- 
cluding James Bowne, A. L. Allen, Theodoras Greg- 
ory. Otis Bisbee, Jeremiah Eighniie, Lewis F. Streit 
and James Mabbett were heard. The plan included a 
liranch frum .Salt Point to W'assaic, to pass through 
or near Washington Hollow and Hart's Village, but 
the promoters were never able to satisfy the people of 
those neighborhoods that this branch would be built. 
As a bait to secure their support it was not success- 
ful, though a railroad to Hart's \'illage continued to 
be agitated u]) to the time of the beginning of the 
construction. In the meantime George H. Brown 
and other promoters of the Fishkill railroad obtained 
substantial support, and managed to get their railroad 
well started before the panic of '67 came as a check 
to both enterprises. 



The Poughkeepsie and Eastern directors reported 
subscriptions of $220,000 in August, 1867, "leaving 
but $80,000 wanting to enable the directors to com- 
mence work." Plad they started their efforts for sub- 
scriptions a little sooner, ;uid a little more vigorously 
and with less division of counsel, the\' might have 
headed otT the Dutchess and Columbia, but then it was 
too late. When the i^roject was again pushed, a year 
or two later, the eft'ort to ohl;iin the amounts needed 
by subscription was given u]) for the favorite scheme 
of bonding towns and the city. Construction was be- 
gun in the spring of i,8(i() im the first section, from 
Poughkeepsie to Salt I'niiil. In Jul\- the work met a 
serious interruption in the defalcation nf Walter 
Welsh, line of the sub-contractors, near Pleasant \'al- 
ley. .Xccnrding to the newspapers, \\v managed to 
swindle the men in his i'in|iliiy, and \arious persons 
with wh(-im he had (-lealings in the city and county, out 
of sums aggregating more than $20,000. and then dis- 
appeared. The workmen at the Valley were in a riot- 
ous mood and one of them. Jack McDonald, seized a 
horse and wagon belonging to W^elsh, and refused to 
give it up when it was demanded 1)y Sheriff Ken- 
worthy. Company D, of the 21st Regiment, com- 
manded by Captain William 1 laubmnestel, was finally 
called ui)on to restore order, and by its aid the property 
was recovered and McDonald and some others were 
arrested. 

Work was resumed, but the directors had not de- 
cided just what direction the road should take from 
Salt I'liint until J;muary. 1870, when the crintr:icl was 




/'oiig/ikrrf'sir e~' /urs/fni S/ation. 

given out for the section from Salt Point to Stissing. 
"Earge and Enthusiastic" meetings were still held in 
favor of a proposed branch to Amenia and Sharon. 

The first locomotive for the new railroad arrived 
in Poughkeepsie in September, 1870, and was hauled 
In horses on a timber track to its destination. It was 
landed from a boat at the l.ower Landing and George 
Polk, the ship builder, had the rather strenuous 



IVi 



HISTORY OF POVGHKEEPSIE. 



contract of hauling it ii]) the hill, via Pine Street and 
Montgomery to Hamilton, and thence across to the 
station. The railroad was completed to Stan ford ville 
not long after this, the first cars were hauled up on 
the tracks of the Poughkeepsic City Railroad, and 
regular trains began running. On January 17th, 1871, 
regular trains, three in each direction, began running 
to Stissing, and on the 24th there was a grand celebra- 
tion of the opening of the first division of the road. 
This included an excursion and a banquet at the Opera 
House, at which George P. Pelton presided. Hon. 
Charles Wheaton, John F. Winslow, Hon. Homer A. 
Nelson, Hon. John Thompson, Hon. B. Piatt Car- 
penter, Hon. W. W. Hegeman, Col. George Parker, 
Rev. F. B. Wheeler, Rev. A. P. Van Gieson, Isaac 
Piatt, M. D. Wilber, H. G. Eastman and Dr. E. H. 
Parker were the local speakers, and George H. Brown, 
president of the Dutchess and Columbia Railroad, 
Grinnell Burt, vice-president of the Wallkill Valley 
Railroad, Daniel Thompson, president of the Middle- 
town and Crawford Railroad, Joel Benton, represent- 
ing Eastern Dutchess, and P. P. Dickinson, represent- 
ing the proposed bridge across the Hudson River, also 
spoke. After this outburst of enthusiasm and oratory 
there was a long halt before the railroad was continued 
to Boston Corners, and it was not until October, 1872, 
that trains began running to State Line, making di- 
rect connections through to Hartford. 

The years '69 to '73, when the P. and E. was fiuallx 
constructed, form an era of railroad building all over 
the country. Poughkeepsie people were not confining 
their investments to local enterprises by any means, 
and long advertisements of Union Pacific and other 
western railroad bonds ajipeared in all the local papers. 
The bank cashiers usually acted as agents for these 
bonds and made a good deal of money from commis- 
sions. Besides the P. and E., the Dutchess and Co- 
lumbia and the Boston, Hartford and Eric, other 
neighboring manifestations of the craze were the Wall- 
kill Valley Railroad, the Rondout and Oswego (now 
Ulster and Delaware) and the Rhinebeck and Con- 
necticut. 

The new railroads made many changes in the coun- 
try and in the towns. Poughkeepsie streets were no 
longer lined with farmers' teams, and the steamboat 
lines gradually went out of the commission business. 
.\ew settlements were created, including Millbrook, 
which was laid out in the summer of 1870 by Isaac 
Merritt, who owned the land and had succeeded in ob- 
taining the location of the Dutchess and Columbia 
station midway between the older hamlets of Hart's 
Village and Mechanic. As soon as the Dutchess and 
Columbia and Boston, Hartford and Erie were ac- 



complished facts Hopewell Junction made a begin- 
ning and old Fishkill began to lose standing. A rail- 
road from Poughkeepsie to Hopewell was then fre- 
quently urged in the Eagle, and also a railroad to 
New Paltz to recover the lost trade of the Wallkill 
Valley. 

A street railroad in Poughkeepsie was projected as 
soon as it became reasonably certain that the Pough- 
keepsie and Eastern would be built, and was first char- 
tered in 1866. Like other enterprises it was postponed 
by the panic of 1867 and finally organized under a 
charter granted May 6th, i860. Its first directors 
were Harvey G. Eastman, Aaron Innis, Oliver H. 
Booth, Alfred B. Smith, Homer A. Nelson, Isaac W. 
White, Pomero\- P. Dickinson, Robert W. Frost, John 
I. Piatt, Edward Storm, Mark D. Wilber, John P. 
H. Tallman and George H. Beattys. Efforts were 
made to prevent any one person or combination from 
obtaining control of the road, and in February, 1870, 
the directors announced that no subscription for more 
than $5,000 would be accepted. Evidently there was 
no very great difficulty about raising the mone\-, for 
in April a contract was made with Leach & Co.. of 
Philadelphia, to build the entire line from the Hudson 
River Railroad depot to the Poughkeepsie and Eastern 
depot, and on May 14th it was stated that the work 
was progressing finely and the entire track woulil be 
laid in nine days. As already indicated it was finished 
in time to furnish an easy means of hauling up the 
first cars used upon the Poughkeepsie and I'.astern 
railroad. 

The extension to Vassar College was made two 
years later and was rather a result of the real estate 
boom in the section east of Cherry Street than an 
effort to obtain fares from the College. March 2nd. 
1872, at a meeting of real estate owners interested 
John Grubb, Andrew King, M, H. Plitchcock, John 
Wing, Caleb Ballard, J. Hevenor, J. I, Pultz, J. Bar- 
nett and U. L. Ferguson were appointed a committee 
to solicit subscriptions. Other meetings were held and 
bv September the work of building the tracks "to 
Hull's Head ;ui(l N'assar College" was nearly finished. 
Then it was decided that "Bull's Head" was not a 
sufficiently dignified name fur a suburb of such a thriv- 
ing city as Poughkeepsic, and the name was changed 
to East Poughkeepsie, now officially xVrlington. 

Tmc Rkai, Est.\tiv Boom. 

During the period between 1868 and 1873, with 
new enterjirises constantly coming to the front, with 
important numicipal improvements in progress, and 
with real estate advancing, comjjarison was often made 
with the days of the unfortunate Improvement Party 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE 



2ir 



of the ,^o's. The parallel was in many respects a good 
one. Ill [I. G. Eastman. George Innis, Mark D. Wil- 
her anil ntliers were to be found leaders quite as ag- 
gressive and sanguine as Oakley, Cunningham and 
Talhnadge. and if the later period produced mi men 
of as much national prominence as Tallmadge, that 
was largely because Poughkeepsie was of far more 
relative im])ortance in the State in 1830 than in 1870, 
though fiiur times as large at the later date. Mr. 
r'.astnian had abundant faith in the future of the city, 
lie expected to live to sec Poughkeepsie a city of 
So, 000. and perhaps even 100,000, and indeed if the 
place could gain twenty-five per cent, in population 
between 1865 and 1870, it seemed not unreasonable to 
suppose that with all the improvements made, with the 
new factories in full operation, the new railroad to 
the eastward and the great bridge giving it westward 
connections, the rate .of growth after 1870 might be 
even more rapid. 

A P)0ard of Trade was formed in April, 1872, and 
leased rooms in the Young Men's Christian Associa- 
tion building. By the 27th 160 members were re- 
ported, each of whom paid an initiation fee of $5. 
Matthew Yassar, Jr., was elected president, and the 
other directors were Otis Bisbee, Joseph C. Doughty, 
lames H. Dudley, Charles Heath, E. H. Sedgwick. 
i)e Witt Webb, Edward Elsworth, George P. Pelton, 
M. J. Myers, James B. Piatt, George Innis, H. G. 
h'astman, J. Parker Heath, John P. Adriance, W. A. 
I^anning. Isaac \\'. White. Edward Storm. George 
Parker. R. \\'. Frost. James Marshall. George D. 
I lull and Richard Kenworthy. This board has contin- 
ued until the present time, but the social feature has 
i)een abandoned. 

Real estate was in good demand before 1867. and 
in 1869 the demand began to assume something of the 
proportions of a boom. A number of streets that 
had been forgotten since they were nia]iped in 1835- 
^j were graded, and provided with houses, and new 
sections of farm lands were divided into lots and 
sold at auction. This was the period of the opening 
of the eastern section of the city, as already implied in 
the account of the extension of the City Railroad. The 
I'.aglc of April 17th. i86g. under the head of "City 
Improvements." says, "The spirit of improvement 
seems recently to have taken possession of the holders 
of property in that section of the city lying east of 
Clinton Street," and adds "Virginia Avenue has been 
handsomely graded and a number of elegant houses 
erected thereon. * * * A gang of men is busily 
at work grading Church Street from Clinton Street 
east to its junction with ]\Iain Street." Old Cherry 
Street is described as "bracing up" and "a spacious 



avenue has been opened from Cherry Street to Vassar 
College." This was. of course. "College Avenue." the 
east end of whicli \\;is not rea<ly for use until Tunc. 
Robert \'. Palmer and Cornelius DuBois were ani<jng 
the leading property owners on the new avenue. Jew- 
ett Avenue was put through, from Main Street to the 
.\lins House, about the same time, and on Mav 12, 
1869, a part of the .\lms House property (the oM 
County House land) bordering on Main Street was 
sold at auction in lots. Mark H. Hitchcock bought 
the old "overseer's residence" on Main Street for 
$3-3 1 5- J- H- Horsfall purchased about $3,000 worth 
of these lots and in 1872 sold them at auction for 
$7,524.50. 

The chief im|)etus to the opening of this section 
of the city was given by the division of the estate of 
William Worrall, who had lived in the house which 




(.s-,- 



J.\COB CORLIICS. 
.l(>(<cndix for biographical skcli/i.) 



was originall\- built for the "Glebe House," or resi- 
dence of the first minister of Christ Church (see p. 
24). The sale of that part of the Worrall property 
lying south of Main Street, June 24th, 1869, was de- 
scribed as "the largest sale of real estate at auction 
that has ever taken place in this city." One hundred 
and ten acres were sold, including thirty-six lots on 
Worrall Avenue, sixteen on the south side of Main 
Street, and a number on College Avenue. George 
Innis, Walter Corlies, Henry D. Myers, A. J. Hans- 
com and F. Ulrich, were the largest purchasers for 



218 



HISTORY OP POUGHKEEPSIE. 



speculation. The sale realized $7J.<)ii.75, an<l the 
his^hest prices paid were $13.55 'i ^o'^^''- '^"^ Cnllege 
.\\enue, and $11.75 "-"^ \\'orrall Avenue. Messrs. 
.\ndre\\ Kiny' and Jacob Corlies purchased 42 acres 
of land (in the north side of Main Street, and George 
Innis hout^ht a similar tract adjoining;. Innis and 
Corlies Avenues. Maple Street and King Street were 
laid out and planted with trees not long afterwards. 
I lanimersley Avenue was an example of a street sur- 
veyed, and idanted with maples, but not opened until 
some fifteen }ears later. Thomas Clegg and Robert 
N. Palmer were the executors of the Worrall estate, 
but John Grubb, Mr. Worrall's son-in-law, was the 
leading promoter of the neighborhood. 

Main Street beyond Clinton had been until this time 
in the control of the Dutchess Turnpike Company, 
which was described in the article of April i6th, 1869, 
as "standing in the way of all improvements," but 
was now "pushed beyond the city limits." In 1872 the 
street was curbed and guttered and flagged (on the 
north side) to the city line at a cost of $7,638.15, for 
the north side, and $3,814.15 for the south side. 
l>lue stone or flag walks were characteristic improve- 
ments of this period, and several of the streets upon 
which lots had been sold were provided with them 
well out into the country. North Hamilton and 
.Xorth Clinton Streets, for example, were flagged on 
both sides through to North Street, though a large 
l)art of the property fronting the northern section of 
each has remained iuiim])roved, and the sidewalks 
tlu-re ha\-e often been called "relics of tlie I'.astnian 
boom." ,\n ordinance was passed at this time forbid- 
ding the repair of the brick walks in the older streets 
and ])rovi(ling for their re])lacement by stone when 
wi,)rn out. Only a verv few ])atches of irregular 
bricks remain to-day. as reminders of the ])ast. 

Tn 1872 an attempt was made to enlarge the bound- 
aries of the city — the only serious attempt, I think, 
since the incorjioration of the village in I7<;9. On 
January J7th James Marshall, John I. I'latt and C. S. 
\'an A\'yck. who had been aiipointed a conuuiltee to 
consider the subject, reporlid in favor of the follow- 
ing lines : 

"Commencing at the center and west side of the 
culvert crossing the Hudson River Railroad at the 
southwest corner of the Poughkeepsie Rural Ceme- 
tery, thence easterly in a direct line to the junction 
of the New Hackensack and Vassar College roads, 
thence northca.st in a direct line to the elm tree on the 
Afanchester road near the Dutchess TurnjMke, thence 
northerly in a direct line to the junction of the .'^alt 
Point road and a cross road near the Roman Catliolic 
Cemetery, thence northwest in a direct line to the 
Centre and east side of a culvert crossing the llyde 



Park road over Ware's Creek, north of the Hudson 
River State Hospital, and following; the said creek to 
the river." 

This report was acce|ili'(l by the (."omnion Council, 
but the efTort to pass it in the Legislature was defeated 
by the 0])position of some of the leading residents in 
the section it was proposed to aiuiex. 

In architecture this was the period of the Mansard 
or French roof, just as the fashion of the 30's de- 
manded Grecian pillars and porticos. Many an old 
gable-roofed building was given an additional story by 
aid of the Mansard and most of the new houses were 
so built, three stories high, generally, with basements. 
It becaiue the highest enterprise to build rows of 
brick basement houses. John Gager was one of the 
leading promoters of such buildings, and the row of 
houses on the southeast corner of Mill and Garden 
Streets are still sometimes called the Gager houses, 



i^^tir^hr*' 




JCastiiiaii 'Tci'iacf in iSj'^. 

as are also some of the houses (.)n the noi'th side of 
.Mill Street near Conklin. Gager was in tinancial 
straits as early as Xovemlx'r, 1S72, when he sold "the 
Gager Clul) House," in Garden Street, which is said 
to have cost $14,000, to Joseph X. Corliss for $10,- 
000. 

The most notable folly of the da\- was >[r. East- 
man's s])lendid block known as b'.astman Terrace. 
Facing his l)eatitiful ])ark he planned an im])osing 
block of twenty-three foiu^-story-and-basement 
lionses, to cost in the neighhiirhood of $400,000. 
Ground was gi'.-ided and excavations made for all, but 
only ten were started. These had been finished in the 
spring of 1873, at a cost of about $150,000. IMr. 
I'",astnian expected to be able to sell \\wm to .\e\\ 'S'ork 
jieople at about $18,000 e;ich, and failing in this he 
midertook to .sell them at auction earh- in Jnl\. 1 lenry 
W. Morris was the auctioneer of the iieriod, and did 
his best, aided by the k'.astnian College Band, and an 
t-laborate luncheon, served in one of the houses. There 
was a large crowd present, but the prices offered were 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE 



219 



so far short of Mr. Eastman's cxi)cctali(iiis that he 
stoppctl the sale. Ten thonsand dollars was offered 
for N'o. I. and Mr. Ivastman declared that he had rc- 
fnsed $i_'.()<)0 f(ir it at ])rivatc sale. The houses were 
not finally (lispcise<l (if until 1874, and represented a 
loss of at least $60,000. Probahly by the time of tlie 
auction real estate had already begun to decline, though 
earlier in the year many sales were rej^orted in the news- 
papers. The £(7.i;/(' of February 15th said: "We do 
not remember when there has been more activity in 
real estate than this spring." Among the sales of 
business property at that time were the following: 
1 Ion. James Emott to James Collingwood, old Emott 
place on Market Street, "now occupied by W. R. 
Woodin," opposite the end of Cannon Street; "Man- 
sion House," corner of Main and Clover Streets, to 
James Mulrein at auction for $11,000; store of Deyo 
Smith, Main Street, to P. M. Howard, $18,000; build- 
ing corner of North Hamilton and ]\Iain Streets to 
X. Hoffman, $26,000. 

The new buildings erected on Main and Market 
Streets during this period gave those streets nearly 
their present appearance in some sections. A notalile 
change was occasioned bv the burning of the old 




CoDur of Main and (-an/in S/jnis, aflc 
Daruibcr 26, /Sjv. 



the J-iiv 0/ 



wooden stores on the north side of Main Street, east 
of Garden, on Monday evening, December 26th, 1870. 
The fire started in the saloon of George W. Cannon, 
and "in about two hours * •'= ''' all the buildings 
from Frost & Parish's building to the corner of Gar- 
den Street were gutted." Archibald Wilson's book- 
store, founded by Paraclete Potter. Morgan L. Far- 
num's drug store and Liberty Hyde's shoe store were 
among the leading places of business burned out. l\Ir. 
Wilson reopened in Liberty Street, at the site of the 
present Eagle building. The Eagle was already lo- 



cated in Liberty Sli'eet. having erected the liuilding 
now occupied by the A. \'. 1 laight I'miting Coin])any 
in 1868. Morgan L. I'"anuiiii reopened his drug store 
in the .Morgan 1 louse block. I le was one of the lead- 
ing characters of the da\ and some of "Morg" Far- 
uuni's stories are still current. Among other losers 
at the fire were M. Shwartz, already located where 
he has since remained. The Poughkecpsie Advertiser, 
R. DanU; John S. M\ers, J. D. Melrose, R. Spring, E. 
\<. Pease, ^Fiss E. r>ates, P. Lamper, H. Kimball, H. 
Zimmer and Thomas Wyatt. Mrs. Enoch Pardee 
owned the corner buildings and her loss was gi\en as 
$15,000. This fire was fought with the old water 
supply and had its influence in hastening the con- 
struction of the new system. Judge Nelson was re- 




■ ' ' /.■ '.'//;>.v on the site of Kiidnici' Hall . 

ported as having worked long and faithfully on the 
brakes of old Protection No. i Engine. 

The building of the present Pardee Block of hand- 
some stores added considerably to the activity of the 
times. James S. Post had the contract for the corner 
building, whicli was finished in x-\pril. 1872, when 
Reed & \ an \'liet opened a bookstore where Peter 
P). ITayt is now established. The Kirchner building was 
finished at the end of the same }ear. and the 21st Regi- 
ment, which had been quartered at the old carriage 
factory, where the Sanitary Fair had been held, took 
possession of the upper floors. After the war Mr. 
I'.uruap had for a time revived the carriage industry 
in the old "armory," but in 1870 he sold his handsome 
place opposite "Springside" to Dr. John P. .\t water, 
of New Haven, Ct., and moved awaj' from Pough- 
kecpsie. Tn Market Street the Mulrein building was 
built in i8fii) and 1870, and the Savings Bank in 1870- 
71. (See article in .\ppendix about the Savings 
Bank). 

TlIK POUGHKEEPSIK BrIDOK. 

The crowning enterprise of the period was the 
beginning of the great bridge across the Hudson, 



220 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 



sugsjcstcd' as socm as tin- I'c ni^hki-cpsii- anil IvisU-ni 
Railroad became a ceitaim\. and from 1868 (-)n dis- 
cussed from time to tinu- in the newspapers. It seem- 
ed evident that a bridge wonld he constructed across 
the river somewhere in or udrth of the Highlands, and 
enlerprising residents of Poughkeepsic immediately 
went til work to show the advantages of the location 
here. P. P. Dickinson took it up as an engineer early 
in 1871. and then Harvey G. Eastman went into the 
])niject with all his tremendous energy. On the 15th 
of February he wrote a letter, published in the Eagle, 
in which he said, "I am satisfied that this |)roject can 
be accomplished and secured to our city if we are 
awake to our own interests." On the 7th of March Mr. 
Eastman was elected Mayor, following George Mor- 
gan, then State Senator, and. assisted by P. P. Dick- 
inson and John I. Piatt, at unce went to work to draft 
a charter fur the proposed bridge companx'. It was 
pushed rapidly through the Legislature and became a 
law on May nth, 1871. The incorporators were 
Harvey G. Eastman, George Innis, John V. Winslow, 
Jiihn ( ). \Vbitehou.se, Homer A. Nelson, John I. Piatt, 
Isaac W. \\'hite. George R. Gaylord, Oliver H. liooth, 
\\'illi;ini A. Davies, John M. Touccy, John P. Adri- 
ance, .\lfred P. Smith, Charles Wheaton, Heiu-y D. 
X'arick. Abraham Wright, Charles Kirchner. Charles 
W. Swift. George Corlies, James Mulrein, Robert 
Slee. .\llard .\nthony, Edward Storm, George P. Pel- 
ion. 1'. 1', nickinson. James G. Wood. .\ar(in Innis. 
Hudson Tayl.ir, .Mark D. Wilber, George Parker. 
James Collingwood, Matthew N'assar, Walter Van 
Kleeck, Charles H. Roberts. Lawrence C. Rapelje, 
Anning Smith, Abraham 1 lasbrouck and George Corn- 
well. The lir'.t <ifficers (jf the companw elected cm 
May 31st. were John b*. Winslow. presidcnl : llar\-ey 
G. Eastman, \'ice-president : Roberl 1''. Wilkinson, sec- 
retary; and George Innis, treasurer. The exeentixe 
committee, John E. Winslow. 11. G. I'.astnian. J. M. 
Toucey, George P. Pclton. Ibmier A. .Xelson. Isaac 
W. White and Charles Wheaton, went ahead w ith pre- 
liminary surveys, appointing Horatio Allen chief en- 
gineer. Up to this time nothing but ;i sus|)t'nsioii 
bridge had been thought of. ami an amendnunt had 
been incor])orated in the charter, throui;!! the inlluence 
of the boatiuen, prohibiting piers in the ri\er, but as 
no Ijridge of that kind had ever bei'u built with a sjiim 
of more than I.OOO feet, capable of sustaining railway 
trains, Mr. Allen declined at the outset to sanction a 
single span bridge. His plans called for two piers in 

'The first suggestion that attracted notice was an article 
written by John I. Piatt, in the Eagle of January 22, 1868. 
This started a discussion. For full history of the Bridge en- 
terprise see Souvenir Eagle issued October, 1S.S9. 



the river, with a span of 1.200 feet between them, the 
shore anchorages to be 700 to 725 feet from the river 
piers. The estimated cost for a single track bridge 
was $2,300,000. b'tirlher legislation was necessarv in 
ortler to sanction any |)iers in the river, and Captain 
James 1!. luuls. whose great St. Louis 1 '.ridge o\er the 
Mississipjii was then nearing ci-jmi)letion. strongly ail- 
vised a truss, instead of a suspension bridge, and urged 
that an effort be made to get the I^egislature to au- 
thorize the placing of four piers in the river. The op- 
position of all the river steamboat and towing interests 
was sure to be strong and determined, and Mayor 
Eastman was nominated and elected .Member of .\s- 
senibly in the fall of 1871. in or<ler to place him in a 
position tc_) exert his utmost influence for the amend- 
ment. The story of the great legislative battle which 
followed has been fully told in the Souvenir Eagle, and 
it is sufficient to say that after manv hearings the op- 
position was overcome and the amendment was signed 
by Governor John T. Lloffman on May 25tli. 1872. 
'I'he frontispiece in Philip TL Smith's History of 
Dutchess County, a view of Poughkee])sie from Col- 
lege Hill, shows the suspension bridge first planned, as 
well as other things planned but never built. 

Then came efforts to raise money, and the rail- 
roads west of the Hudson showed a friendly sjiirit in 
strong contrast with their attitude after the bridge had 
been built. The b'rie. however, was then laid with a 
si.x-foot gauge, anil the MiiUand. later the ( )ntario & 
Western, was in linancial (lifficiiltii's. but the Pennsyl- 
vania, the most important of all. was looking for a 
New England eonnecti<in and h;id ah-ead\- appointed a 
conmiittee to find one. A. 1,. Dennis, of .Xewark, N. 
}.. was cliairnian, and Andiew t'arnegii' one of the 
members of this committee. |ohn 1. I'latt was au- 
thorized to negoiiati' with them and as .a result they 
niaile a careful in\-estig;ition, and ricoinniended that 
the Penns\ Ivjinia should subscribe to the bridge stock. 
I'.ooks were opened June .^oth, 1873. by H. (j. East- 
man. George 1'. iV'lton and Hudson Taylor, commis- 
siont'rs. A. L. Di'unis and J. h'.ilgar Thompson, 
pi'esiilent of the Pennsylvania Railroad, beaded the 
subscription list with 5. 500 shares (.'ach. aggregating 
.ft. 1 00.000. and as the total ca]MtaIization then was but 
$2,000,000, this gaw them control and apjiarentl}' as- 
sured the success of the enterprise. September 5th 
a new board of directors was chosen; J. Ivlgar 
Thompson, Thomas A. Scott, Andrew J. C'assatt and 
Strickland Kneass. of I'liiLidelphia ; A. 1,. Demiis. of 
Newark; Andrew Carnegie, of I'ittsburgh; Charles G. 
Francklyn. l)a\iil Solomon ;md Gardner 1'". McCand- 
less. of .\'ew ^■(U■k; 11. G. b'astman. George P. Pel- 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE 



221 




Cartoon hy II alter .hlriaiiio, foit^lislnd after the Failure oj the 1'in.t I'.riJi^e ( 'toiipaiiy. 



ton, Gcorq-e Tnnis and P. P. Dickinson, of Pough- 
kccpsic. 

Mr. Dennis was elected president, and the corner- 
stone on Reynolds Hill was laid with Masonic cere- 
mony December 17th hy Grand Master James W. Hus- 
tcd, in the presence of a great concourse of peop'e. 
The celebration was one of the greatest that has ever 
taken ])lace in Poughkeepsie. Besides officials of the 
IV-nnsylvania Railroad and other prominent men from 
Philadelphia, there were present Ma}or P. P. Putler. 
of I'.ostim. Ma\c)r IP C. Robinson, of Hartford, Gov- 
ernor A. II. llolley. of Connecticut, and many men 
scarcely less prominent. The closing event was a 
great banquet at the Opera Ploiise, with manv enthus- 
iastic speeches, and a large audience in the galleries. 

By this time, however, that administration of the 
Pridge company was already doomed. The panic of 
1873 lis'l begun on September i8th with the failure of 
Jay Cooke & Co.. in New York, and values everywhere 
had begun to shrink seriously. The Pennsylvania 
Railroad might } et have held to its contract had it 
not been for the death of its president. J. Edgar 
Thompson, liefore arr;mgenients cnuld be made to 
transfer the individual subscriptions to the comi)an\'. 



but tlicn the increasing financial difficulties caused the 
stockhohlers. at a meeting held, to refuse to assume any 
new obligations. 

Social Pifk, Sports .and Cluhs. 

It was natural during the time of .so much enter- 
prise and money making that exijcnditure in I'uter- 
tainments and pleasures sin mid l)e liberal, 'i'lie city 
is said to have been much more lively then than it is 
now. luiterlainments were given on a larger scale, 
and the cost was nut so closely counted. Mayor East- 
man gave free band concerts every Saturday evening 
in the park, an<l usually also a reception at his house 
to the students at the college. On New Year's day he 
kept open house and so did other public men. while 
the custom of making New Year's calls was general. 
Drinking and gambling were more common, and con- 
sidered better form than now, though not so much so 
as before the war. 

Out-of-door sports of all sorts flourished, and had 
a larger following apparently than to-day, especially 
the winter sports. Skating, coasting and ice vachting 
weri' at their height. Tile Eastman Skating Park was 
not always linanci;dly successful, but it often attracted 



222 



Pi I s T k y op pouch keepsib 



Crowds, and man_v of the best figure skaters in the 
country were brought here to give exhibitions. As 
to coasting several thousands of people were often 
reported on the hills during moonlight nights, and 
"bob-sleds" were frequently built expensively with 
nickel-plated tillers, polished wood work and luxurious 
cushions. The old \'olunteer Base Ball Club flour- 
ished at this time and was distinctly a Poughkeepsie 
organization, though semi-professional. After a few 
years it imported Michael Welsh and trained him to 
be one of the best base ball players in the country. 
Professionalism of the modern kind had then begini. 
The club played its matches on the Eastman groimds, 
now the Riverview athletic field. 

The first amateur rowing association of which we 
have any record was the "Shatemuc Boat Club," start- 
ed in June, 1867, with Rev. James L. Corning president. 
Its members included most of the leading young sports- 
men of the day and, according to the list published 
with its constitution in 1868, were: 



Henry N. .\very, 
Richard Bailey, 
Oliver H. Booth, 
James Bowiie, Jr., 
Samuel IT. Braman, 
Tristram Coffin, 
W A. Collingwood. 
James L. Corning, 
George W. Davids, 
Thomas Davies, 
Jerome V. Deyo, 
Augustus Doughty, 
Sterling Doughty, 
Harvey G. Eastman, 
Charles Eastmead, 
Thomas Foster, 
Robert W. Frost, 
Irving (jrinncll. 



William C. Hill, 
Charles L. Houghton, 
Aaron Innis, 
Floy M. Johnston, 
Theodore V. Johnston, 
Edgar M. Meeks, 
James Parish, 
Thomas Parish, 
George L. Rives^ 
John A. Roosevelt, 
Hudson Taylor, 
J. J. Van Allen, 
J. Spencer Van Cleef, 
Theodore Van Klecck, 
George Van Vliet, 
Remson Varick, 
Frank E. Whipple, 
Edward Winslow, 



Jerry \". Wriglit. 

George I'olk procured for the club an old canal 
boat, the Ben Rey, which was fitted up as a club house, 
and served well enough until one night she sank at her 
moorings and ruiiu-d all the racing shells stored in- 
side. The elul) tlun, in 1S70. liuilt the ])resent club 
house at tiie L'pper Landing. 

Horse racing had two rival centres ;il this time, 
the half-mile track at I'lUll's I lead nr l'",ast I'oughkeep- 
sie. called the Duly I iiion I'ai'k. ami llu' I'oughkeei)- 
sie Driving Park, at the ])resent l(ieaticin, thru dv- 
scribed as "a short distance from this city nn tlir plank 
road." The Doty track was cast of RaxnuMiil Avenue, 
and not far from the Turnpike, a <listriet nnw almost 
completely covered with bouses. It had liri'u laid out 



before the older race course grounds wete purchased 
by Matthew Vassar as a site for his college. The driv- 
ing park on "the plank road" was ]3artly developed 
with a half-mile track, soon after the war, and was 
conducted by A. \'anderburgh. In April, 1872, dur- 
ing the boom, a movement was started to organize a 
"Hudson River Agricultural and Mechanical Associa- 
tion" for the purpose of lading out elaborate fair 
grounds and racing track to serve as a rallying place 
for all the central river counties. A considerable sum 
of money was subscribed and the following directors 
were chosen. George .\.}rault, LaGrange — then fam- 
ous as a raiser of big cattle — J. O. Whitehouse, 
Thomas Doty, W. W. Hegeman, John I. Piatt, E. B. 
Osborne, H. G Eastman, James Smith, H. N. Avery, 
James Collingwood, Poughkeepsie ; Henry Myers, Pine 
I'lains ; Samuel Johnson, Wappingers Falls ; Thomas 
Morton, Xewburgh ; Nathaniel Hallock, Milton ; Peter 
X. Berry, Stormville. In December, along with the 
announcement of the election of George Ayrault, presi- 
dent, H. X. Avery, secretary, and James H. Weeks, 
treasurer, it was stated that "the grounds of Mr. John 
A. \'an Wagner, at the junction of the Salt Point Road 
with Innis Avenue have been chosen." These grounds 
were surwxed hut were finally rejected, it is said, at 
the instance of the horsemen, as they did not afford 
a good location for a perft-ct mile track. The associ- 
ation, however, was never inctn'porated, and a new or- 
ganization was afterwards formed, including some of 
the same men, to purchase and further develop tiie 
present driving park. 

There were certainly social clubs before the war, 
hut none that survived, and apparently none that had 
what could be called a club house. The Amrita Club 
seems to have been the first club of an\- imi)e)rtance. It 
was organized in March, 1873, with I lenry \'. Pel- 
ton, Edward Burgess, Frank B. I.own. Jerome \'. 
Deyo, Cornelius Du I'.nis, Jr., John W. rellon. John 
F. Hull. Jr., Howard !'., I'ulnani, I'rank llashrouek. 
William E Ferris, Jr., C. Pierre -\l)ell and Leonard 
C. Miller as charter members. The club hired two 
rooms in the Collingwodd building until 1875, when it 
riniovt-d to the third lloor of the Emott building, op- 
posite Cannon Street, In 1878 it removed a few doors 
ncirlh to tlu' old Swift house, which was occupied un- 
til iS.'-!7. when the ])rest'nt building was leased from 
Mrs, James i I, Weeks. In 1 804 the building was pur- 
chased, and in 11)04 was enlarged 1)\- r;iising the roof 
and constructing a model billianl room in the third 
tloor. 



CHAPTER XI. 



From the Panic of 1873 to the Present (1905) — Reducing Expenses, The Charter of 1874 and 
PoLiTicAi, Changes — Reorganization and Readjustment — Building the Poughkeepsie Bridge 
— The Old and The New, The River Front — The Old and The New, Uptown Industries — 
The Charter of 1883 and Recent Politics — The New Vassar College — The Benefactions 
OF John Guy Vassar and Matthew Vassar, Jr. — Other Charitable and Religious Institu- 
tions — New Churches — Recent Public Improvements, Schools — New Buildings and Real 
Estate Extension — The Fire Department and The Military Organiz.\tions — Social Life, 
Clubs, Fraternities, Etc. — Conclusion. 



From the panic of 1S73 the events of the histiiry 
of Poughkeepsie are witliin tlie memory of the great 
majority of the people, and too close to he viewed 
in historical perspective, hut they are nevertheless 
worth recording. The city has not grown as the lead- 
ers of the enterprises nf tile last peridcl hoped, l)ut has 
slowly develoiied. and has not heen behind other east- 
ern cities of its size in the working out of progressive 
ideas, though considerahl_\' hampered for a long time 
hy its heavy debt. 

The ]ianic was not so severe in its effect upon local 
business as that of lS_:57, wiili which it is often coni- 
p.-irecl. The city debt, however, in 1S73 was a much 
more serious matter than was the village debt of 1S37, 
and led at once to ciiarges of extravagance against 
.\la\i)r Eastman's administration, and to a demand for 
a revision of the charter that should check the rapid 
extension of w'ater mains, sewers and other expensive 
improvements. An investigating committee was ap- 
pointed b\ the Common Council, October loth, 1873, 
consisting of Aldermen Michael Plunkett, First Ward ; 
Egbert Reynokls, Second Ward ; George Parker, Third 
Ward ; John P. Adriance, Fourth Ward ; John J. 
1 '.rooks. Fifth Ward, and Dr. DeWitt Webb, Sixth 
Ward, to act with si.x citizens, David C. Foster, Otis 
I'.isbee, George B. Adriance, William \'an Anden, 
George 1!. Lent and Henry A. Sleight. On Novem- 
ber 6th they published a report that fills five or six 
columns of the newspapers. 

In the meantime the lioard of Trade called a mass 
meeting at the ( )i)era House, October 2()tli, at which 
Matthew \'assar, Jr., was chairman. Mayor Eastman 
defended the expenditures of his administration and 
showed b\- comparisons that the per capita taxation 
was not so high as in many other cities. The necessity 
of amendments to the charter limiting the powers 



of expenditure of the various cit_\- boards, each of 
which was at this time virtually independent, was tie- 
bated and the meeting adopted resolutions asking- 
Judge Joseph F. Barnard and Judge Henry M. Tay- 
lor to name a committee of two from each ward to in- 
vestigate city affairs and prepare charter amend- 
ments. The two judges acce])ted the responsibility 
and reported, November uth, the following commii- 
tee : First Ward, Stephen Al. Buckingham, Leonard 
B. Sackett; Second, George Innis, Otis Bisbee ; Third, 
Charles W. Swift, Robert E. Taylor; Fourth, George 
H. Tompkins, Richard C. Meeks ; Fifth, Jacol) 11. 
Jewett, Jacob P>. Carpenter; Sixth, John L Piatt. J. 
( •. Whitehouse. They organized by the election of C. 
W. Swift chairman and John I. Piatt secretary. Sub- 
committees for investigation were appointed, and made 
a number of reports, and at length early in 1874, an 
entire new charter had been prepared, in large part by 
John L Piatt, and was debated by the Common Coun- 
cil, and also by a citizens' meeting on March 5th. 
This ciiarter contained the first local recognition of the 
principle that the Common Council should have su- 
pervisory power over all expenditures, through sub- 
mission to it of the estimates of all the boards. The 
boards were also deprived of the power of issuing 
bonds on their own authority alone, and there were 
restrictions upon the extension of water mains, sewers, 
flagged sidewalks, etc. The Water Board was made 
practically a Board of Public Works, and was given 
the care of the streets as w^ll as the appointment of 
the city engineer. To these last provisions the Coun- 
cil strenuously objected, and they were at length 
stricken out. Allard Anthony, as Corporation Coun- 
sel, submitted an outline of another charter, and the 
Coimcil appointed two conference committees to confer 
with Charles W. Swift, Jacob B. Carpenter and John 



'22-1 



HISTORY OP POUGHKEEPSIE 



1. riall, (.)!' llie citizens' cummiltcc, Ix-forc inaU(.TS were 
straightened unt. The charter was finally dehatetl at 
a citizens' mass nieelini;- at the ^'. M. C\ A. hnilcling 
March 24th. in which I'mfessor W. 11. Croshy, Roh- 
ert West, Edward I'.Uwdrlh, C. II. S. Williams, Henry 
1). .Myers, Jacob J!. Jewett, John McLean, Rev. A. P. 
\ an Gieson, O. D. M. Baker, Leonard B. Sackett, 
Robert K. Wilkinson and others took part. Some mod- 
ifications were adopted, ami it was then sent to the 
Legislature, where it was speedily enacted into law. 
It was the only city charter of recent times thoroughly 
discussed, and many of the principles established still 
remain, though the mass meeting method resulted in 
some imperfections that were likened to patchwork. 

The public imi)rovements undertaken couUl not 
])v entiri-ly stopped at once, and as payments for work 
done fell due the city debt continued to increase. The 
tabular view printed with the City Chamberlain's re- 
port of 1874 shows it at $1,932,897.70. which included 
$600,000 Ponghkeepsic and Eastern bonds, ,$530,o(x) 
"water stock," $60,000 Fallkill Improvement bonds, 
and $320,000 sewerage bontls. Soon after this report 
was made $85,000 more sewerage bonds were sold, 
bringing the total above $2,000,000. When the ne.xt 
tahidar vii'W was published, with the report of 1876, 
the debt had fallen to .^i .i)7'i.i|<)7.7(), and thereafter 
conliinu-d to decrease. The cb.irler of i,S74 iutro- 
du^■ed .'i ]n-riod of economy ami fo|- ;i long time little 
more' than mere maintenance could l)e attempted 
until ])opulation and ta.xable property had considerably 
increased. The census of 1875 was not encouraging, 
as it showed an actual, though slight, decrease in 
population ; and the assessed vaulation of jiroperty in 
the city had been decreasing since 1866. 

The assessment rolls of this |)eriod are interesting 
enough to warrant a little stud\. In 1866 real estate 
had l)een assessed at $2,8o3.C)00, and jirrsoual projicrly 
at $2,781,321. a total of $5,584,()2i. War taxes had 
hanlly _\et come down nnich. and pi'o|ile were accus- 
tomed to paying on .all sorts of lurson.-d iiro|ierly. 
Real estate continued to rist- wiUi the increased devi-1- 
opment, but jiersonal ])ro])ert\ began to decrease more 
in ])roporlion. In 1873, when assessments might nat- 
ur.allv b.ivt' l)een expected to be at the highest, they 
stood: Ueal estate $3,262,345. personal $2,109,675. 
The tolal did not ajjproach the figures of 1866 mitil 
1878, when it reached $5,572,145, ineluiliuL; rt'al es- 
tate $3,^)80.670. personal $1,885,475. Real estate was 
assessed only at about onc-tliird of its estimated value, 
a i)olicy which did not prevent the Board of Super- 
visors from raising the city almost every year in mak- 
ing up its e(|urdizalion t.ables. At ibis time the luii^lc 



and others strongly advocated a radical change in the 
metln)d of assessments, and in the fall of 1878 Charles 
M, Colwell and Andrew King were elected assessors, 
ior the purpose of inaugurating a new system. In 
1879 the assessments jumped to $11,518,865, made up 
of $8,934,165 real, and $2,584,700 personal. The high- 
est city tax of this period was $232,844.21 in 1876. 

The charter of 1874 changed the time of holding 
city elections from March to December, so as to make 
the terms of office correspond with the fiscal and cal- 
endar years. Consequently in 1874 there were two 
city elections. Only minor offices were to be filled in 
the spring, and the election is noteworthv merely be- 
cause the politicians decided not to spend any money 
in the purchase of votes. Says the Eagle of Wednes- 
day, March 4tli, "The election in this city yesterday 
was a very riinarkable affair. ( )n election days here- 
tofore b\ at least four o'clock* in the afternoon each 
])olling place had been the scene of drunkenness and 
disorder to some extt'Ut." This time tbei-e were no 
such scenes, but the "strikers" stood gloomily aro\nid 
waiting for some one to bu\' them, and many of them 
did not vote at all. Robert E. Taylor, Republican, 
was re-elected Recorder, but F. W. George, Demo- 
crat, was chosen City Treasurer, defeating Col. James 
Smith. Mr. (icorge served a number of terms as City 
Treasmer, and was several times elected in strong 
Republican years. ( )ne of lite candidates against him 
was Courtlaud S. 1 lowland, the present City Chamber- 
lain. Tlu' office of C'iU Tre.asurer was creatt-d by Ihe 
charter of iSfx). the previous corresponding offici.al 
having been called llu' C'ollector. W. Morg:m Lee, 
the ])resent C'it\' .\ttornt'\', was Citv Ch.amberlain in 
1874. 

As was natural during a period of growing finan- 
cial stringency, and high taxes, the political drift was 
.away from the ]iarl\ in control of the Xalion.al admin- 
istration, .and in \o\embei' ,*^anuiel J. Tilden was 
^■lected ( io\ernor oi the State, leading Ceneral Dix 
in I'oughkeepsie by 648 votes, an extraordinary Demo- 
cratic majorily, ])artly accounted for by .\lr. White- 
house's 717 majority for Congress over Ch.irles L. 
lleale. Tiie Democrats elected ihi'ir whole ticket, .and 
iMr. I'.astman declined l<i be ;i candidate either for 
Membt-r of Assembly or for .Mayor. The former of- 
fice went to I'.enjamin S. llroas. of 1 'oughkee])sie. an<l 
;it the December election Jacob !'.. Carpenter, who had 
l)een .Member of .\ssembl\ ' between Mr. Eastman's 



'Members of Assembly from the Second District, from 
1.S75 to the jircscnt. were as follows: 1876 and 1877, Dr. 
He Will Weill.; 1S7S. Peter lliiline; 1.S79 and 18S0. Cornel- 
ius Piteliei-. wlio liad piex'icHisly been sherifT; 1881. James E. 
nntduT. al^.l nrevlcMislv SberilT; l.S,S_>. Jcibn O'Hrieii. D., of 



History of poughkeepsiU. 



225 



IwD terms, was chosen Mayor without opposition. O. 
1). AI. I'.aker. at the same time became the first City 
Attorney, tliis ofitice having been created I)y the new 
cliarter. J'efore this time there had been a "corpora- 
tion connsel" appointed by the Mayor and .\ldcrmen, 
and each of the cit\- boards had employed its own at- 
torney, often at considerable expense. 

.\n incident of the fall of 1874 was the opening (jf 
the Driving I 'ark in October, with a grand review by 
(lovernor jolm A. Dix. of the reginu-nls comprising 
the 5tli Division, W-w York State .\';ition;d C.iiard, 
commanded l)_\- Cicneral Janu-s W. llusled. This was 
followed by "the first annual fair of the lludson River 
.Agricultural and Driving I'ark .\ssociation." which 
l)rought a great crowd to the city. The Driving Park 
Association was nevertheless destined to failure, and 
the properly passed thron.gh a number of hands btd'ore 
it came into the possessi(jn of the present owner. Jacob 
Kuppert. Se\-er^l noted horsemen, including Ivlwin 
Thorni', were among its owners. 

V>\ 1875 things were looking better for the Re- 
publicans, and I'l. I'latt Car])enter was elected to the 
vState Senate. an<l Dr. 1 )eWitt Webb to the Assembly, 
in 1876 Hayes received a majority of 597 over Tiltlen 
in Poughkeepsie. and at the December election East- 
man was again elected Mayor, defeating William Har- 
loe by 33'i. Mayor Eastman had not fully recovered 
from his financial losses, and his health was failing 
1 le died in Denver, Col.. July 13th. 1878. and Dr. John 
R. Cooper was appointed to serve the remainder of 
his term. In December Dr. Cooper \yas defeated by 
Mr. 1 larloe, though at the same election the Republi- 
cans elected Robert F. Wilkinson Recorder over Frank 
1 lasbrouck, then entering politics for the first time. 

In November, 1880, Garfield received a majority 
of 81 1 votes, and the next month Ezra White, who ha<l 
succeeded Mr. Eastman, his brother-in-law, as ])resi- 
dent of Eastman College, was elected Mayor for the 
first time, defeating Dr. Gu\- C. I'.ayley by 585. Sen- 
eca \'. llalloway, teller of the Poughkeepsie Hank, 
was County Treasurer at this time, and in 1881 was re- 
elected, but in December was found short in his ac- 

Rliine1)cck: 1883. Edgar A, Briggs : 1S84 and 1885, Edward 
V,. Osborne, D. : 18S6, '87 and '88, John I. Piatt; 1889 and 
i8go, Johnston L. dePeysler, of Red Hook; 1891, Edward B. 
Osborne, D. ; 1892 and iSg,'?, John A. Vandewatcr, D. ; 1894, 
■9.S, '96 and '97, Augnstns B. Gray; 1898, 1899 and 1900, Wil- 
liam A. Tripp, of Rhine1)eck; 1901, '02 and '03, Francis G. 
Landon, of Staatsljurgh ; 1904, Robert Winthrop Chanler, D., 
of Red Hook: 1905, Aiignstus B. Gray. All except those 
marked O. were Repn1)licans, and all e.xcept those otherwise 
designated lived in the city or town of Ponghkepsie when 
elected. 



coutits. llis (U'falcation was one of the chief sensa- 
tions of the period. 

The last December elections were held in 1882, 
when .Mayor White was re-elected with a lead of 395 
votes over Dr. W. (',. Stevenson, though Recorder 
\\'ilkins(jn was defi'ated by h"r;uik P.. l<own. This was 
the yi'.-ir ol droNei- Cleveland's enortnous majority for 
Governor in tln' St.ite, atid Cleveland had carried 
Poughkeepsie by uS, in spite of the I'act that P.. Piatt 
Carpenter, the local Repttblican leader, was a candi- 
date for Pieutenant Governor and reci'ived 15 tnore 
\-otes than his 13emocratic oi)iionenl, David P. Hill. 
.Mr. Carpenter's disapi)ointtnent over this election was 
so keen that he obtained an ap])ointment as Governor 
of the Territory of Montana, and removed frotu 
Poughkeepsie. lie was sitcceeded in the local leader- 
ship of his ])arly by Koliert II. Ilnnti-r, who h.ad been 
a])pointed ])0stinasier in iSSo. James P. Williams' was 
at this time one of the local Democratic leaders, and 
was api)ointed by GoveriKjr Clevelantl State Asses.sor. 
The Legislature elected in 1882 was naturally Demo- 
cratic, though h'dgar A. Briggs had defeated John 
O'Brien, ot Rhinebeck, chairman of the Democratic 
vState Connnitiee. for Member of Assembly in the 
Second District of Ditichi'ss, and the Democrats, evi- 
dently thinking that tiny had nothing to lose from a 
consolidation of cit\. State and National elections, 
passed a new cliarter in 1883 abolishing the December 
elections. During the winter ;md sjiring of 1883 a 
number of suits were bron.ght by the cit\- against 
former office holders, including William 1. Thorn, 
who had been City iAttorney, and Abraham Wiltsie, 
who had been City Treasurer. They disclosed con- 
siderable irregularity in the keejiin.g of accounts, lint 
no criminality, and h;id no i)r;ictical ri'snlts, exct'jit 
.greater carefulness. 

T^lCoKr, WIZA'rioX AND RivVnjUSTMIvNT. 

.\lth(iugh many local business men lost beavip- as 
a resitlt of the ]):nnc. there were few failures, and ihe 
statement is not true that most of the losses were made 
from local investments. More Poughkeepsie money 
had been invested in western railroad stocks and bonds, 
and farm mortga.ges than in the new local enterprises. 
Many (if tiie former proved worthless and left nothing 
behind., while most of the latter left something in the 
nature of fixed capital at home to provide a basis 
for future |)rofit. The Ihtdson River Iron Works, for 
exam])le, soon went thr()u.gh a reorganization that 
wiped out investments in the stock, but the plant was 
there, and the puddling furnaces and rolling mill con- 

ipor Iiiographical sketch see Appendix. 




FRANK r.. I<()\VX. 
[For hiograp/iiid/ skiir/i sec .■l/'f>r)idix. ) 



M I S f RY OP POUGHKBBPSIB 



22? 



tinned to turn mit wrought iron bars and bolts until 
1S78. .\fter a period of idleness the plant passed 
into the hands of the Phoenix Horse Shoe Company, 
was doubled in size and became a greater contributor 
to the business oi the city than its original promoters 
expected. 

The City Railroad failed to pay fixed charges and 
was sold Decemjjer 11 lb, ICS76, for $40,000, to the 
bondholders, but the litl'e old "bob-tailed'' cars were a 
great convenience and did their part, even witli ten 
cent fares, or "six tickets for a quarter," towards re- 
storing prosperity. The company reported net earn- 
ings of $2,oo8.i;(i in the year ending September 30th, 
1873, but soon after that abandoned its old stables near 
the Poughkeepsie and Eastern Railroad, and built the 
new brick stables in Main Street. In the winter of 
1875 the expenses of removing snow absorbed a large 




/.V75 S/io7i'Scti!f — 3/ciiii SIrcti, urar I'lissar. 

part of the earnings of the road. There was a succes- 
sion of big storms, the worst of them on March 4th 
and 8th. On the 8th the City Railroad tracks had 
only been dug out as far as the Morgan House by 
night. The accomi)anying jiicture, probably taken on 
the i)th, shows that the depth of snow was not much 
kss than in the memorable blizzard of March 12th, 
1888. The City Railroad was reorganized in Octo- 
ber, 1877, with Aaron Innis president, and thereafter 
b\- strict economy of management kept out of financial 
difficulty. Though returning nothing to the stock- 
iioklers for a long period, those who held on ultimately 
got most of their original investment back when the 
road was sold for equipment with electricity. 

The Poughkeepsie and Eastern Railroad doubtless 
absorbed more local capital than any of the other en- 
terprises of the day, but with two railroads leading 



to Fishkill, it had [o lie built if the city was to retain 
the trade o[ the county. Its failure is more to be at- 
tributed to the postponement of construction until af- 
ter the Dutchess and Columbia was built than to any- 
thing else. The Bagle of May 17th, 1873, said: "If 
the Poughkeepsie and Eastern had been built when we 
and others strove to have it done, there never would 
have been any Dutchess and Columbia, the Delaware 
and Hudson Company wmdd have established a great 
coal depot here, as it agreed to, and there never would 
have been any Rhinebeck and Connecticut. The whole 
business between Western Connecticut and Eastern 
Dutchess and the Hudson River would have passed 
over our line." "Xever" is doubtless too comprehen- 
sive a word as ajjplied to the construction of competing 
lines, but the statement is substantially true. The 
railroad was first sold under foreclosure April 14th, 
1875, to George P. Pelton, as trustee for the bondhold- 
ers, for $50,000, and was reorganized in May as the 
Poughkeepsie, Hartford and Boston Railroad.' It 
managed to pay bare running expenses, but could make 
no improvements without borrowing. In 1884 there 
was another foreclosure, and the section from Bos- 
ton Corners to State Line was sold to the Hartford 
and Connecticut Western, and was made use of by 
the latter for consolidation, not with the railroad to 
Poughkeepsie, but with that to Rhinebeck. This was 
a serious blow to P. and E. interests, for closer 
connection with Hartford and New England w'as one 
of the motives in the construction of the railroad. A 
fatal mismanagement at critical moments characterized 
the P. and E. from the outset, and resulted ultimately 
in its hopeless isolation. 

Buir,DINC. THE POUGHKIJEPSIE BrIDGR. 

Efiforts to make the Poughkeepsie and Eastern 
Railroad pay, by giving it a through traffic, constitut- 
ed a leading motive for the revival of the great bridge 
enterprise which had been so near to success. Reor- 
ganization of course followed the death of President 
Thompson, and the withdrawal of the Pennsylvania 
Railroad, and the bridge promoters, particularly Mr. 
Eastman, Mr. George P. Pelton and Mr. Piatt, turned 
to New England for help. They succeeded in arousing 
the interest of the Boston Chamber of Commerce, and 
in January, 1875, a committee of nineteen from that 
body, accompanied by leading men from other sections 
of New England, visited Poughkeepsie, went over the 
ground thoroughly and reported in favor of the bridge. 
The proposition then began to attract the attention 

iThe story of the several reorganizations is told in tlie pe- 
tition of William P. Rockwell, i-itli I''e1irnar\-. i8,S8, ami in 
George P. Pelton's answer. 



228 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSin 



of l)n'(lge consruction coiii]);mies. and at length an oflcr 
was accepted frnni "The American Bridge Coinijany," 
of Chicago, to l)uild the hridge and help raise tlie 
nionev. Work hegan November 14th, 1876. on the 
lirst of the timber cribs upon which the piers were to 
i)e l)uilt "on the ways of ^^Ir. George \\'. I'olk, almost 
at the exact site that was used l)y the ship builders 
employed l)\ the Continental Congress in the Revolu- 
tion." 

Three cribs or caissons were successfully launched 
and two of them were placed in position and weighted 
down with concrete, when an unfortunate accident 
caused suspension of the work and another long wait, 
it was then deemed necessary, in order to lay masonry 
ui)on the cribs, to build coffer dams upon them to 
be jninipcd out.' When the first caisson, nearest the 
west shore, had reached this stage the ])umi)ing out 
of the cotler dams caused so great an upward ])res- 
sure that it broke the caisson apart, and lifted tlie 




Bridge Caisson, Ready /o J/aa/ to /'o.si/ioii. iSjj. 

wliole mass on the north end above the bottom line 
of caulking. The damage was successfully repaired, 
and the masonry was carried u]i to the re(|uired height 
before winter, but the accident proved so t'xpensive 
that, combined with 111i-.f1 irtune elsewlu-re. it ruined 
tlie .American Hridge Comp.-my. There stood the pier 
for another ten years btd'ore work was resumed, and 
it was often referred to as II. V,. luistman's monument, 
as he died July 15th, 1878. 

.\ few jiersons never lost faith in the enterprise, 
and continued tiieir efforts to interest ca])ital. The 
time limit in the charter was extended by legislative 
action from January ist. 1879 to 1883, and then to 
18S8 against some ojiposition. .\t length J. C. Stan- 
ton, of New York, a well known contr;ictnr ;in<l i>ro- 
moter, was enlisted in the work, and induced W. \\ . 
(iil)l)s, of Philadelphia, to undertake its comi)'etion. 
1 le and other capitalists organized the Manhattan 

' For details of construction sec ])aper read by John I". 
OT<oiirke before the American Society of Civil lingineers 



r.ridge Pjuilding Company, at the head of which was 
John W. Urock. of I'hiladelijhia, to finance the bridge 
— provide funds, market securities, etc. Charlemagne 
Tower. I'. S. Senator Simon Cameron, H. C. Frick 
and William !'.. .^cott were among the prominent 
1 'ennsylvanians interested, and J. Id. .Vppleton, of 
Springfield, the most prominent of the New England- 
ers. The actual work of construction was sublet to the 
Union Bridge Company, of New York, comprising 
the eminent engineers Charles F. Macdonald, Thomas 
C. Clark, George S. Field, Edmund Hayes and 
Charles S. Maurice. The success of the cantilever 
Ijridge at Niagara, built by the same company, sug- 
gested another change of plans, and the final adoption 
(if the combined cantilever and truss system. 

Work was begun for the third time October 8th, 
i8K(>. The charter now required the completion of the 
bridge January 1st. 1888, leaving but little more than 
a year, and a further extension of time was necessary. 
Against this the most determined opposition sprang 
rji ou the i>art of the boatmen, rival cities and the 
Slin-m King Bridge promoters. All the newspapers 
of .\lban\' anil Trov and most of those in New York 
joini'd this movement, and the New York Chamber of 
Commerce, the I'.oard of Trade and Transportation, 
the I'roduce K.xchange and other fiodies. sent repre- 
sentatives to Albany to lobby in favor of a bill intro- 
iluced 1)} Mr. Devcreaiix, one of the Albany Members 
of .\ssembly. to repeal the act of 1872 and compel the 
removal of the piers alread\- jiartly finished. John I. 
riatt had been Member of .\ssembly since 188O. and 
the contest this time was <|uite as bitter and obstinate 
as that in 1S72. when Mr. I'.nstman represented Pough- 
keepsie. .Mr. Tlatt had taken a ])roniinent ]iart in the 
earlier contest, liad been a leading force in ewry move- 
ment to bring the great enterprise to ci iin])letion. was 
familiar with every ]5oint the o])i)osition could make. 
;is well as with everything in favor of the bridge, and 
evenluall\- ilefealeil the Devereaux bill and carried 
through the bill granting an extension of time, which 
was signed by Governor I Till June 25th, 1888. 

B\- this time the work was in full progress. Messrs, 
D.iwson. Symmes and I'sher had charge of the found- 
.'itions and masonry, and Ross, Sanford & P.aird, of the 
su]ierstructure. John F. ( )'Rourke. now widely 
known as the contractor for the great Pennsylvania 
Railroad tunne's mider the North l\iver at Xew ^'ork. 
w;is the chief engineer in charge of constructii m, while 
Aitluir B. Paine had general suju'rvision for the Man- 
Ii;itl;in Bridge Building Comi)any. and P. P. Dickin- 
son fur the I'cnighkeepsie Bridge Company proper. 

There were, of course. m;m\- changes in the direc- 
lor;ite of the Bridge Com]iany itself cluring the reor- 



^ 




2.30 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIB. 



ganizatioiis. A. ]'>. Stnnr. nf New N'nrk, siiceH-ciU-d 
John F. W'inslow as ])n.'.si(lciit wlu'ii the American 
Uridine Cninpany had charge, and continued in office 
nnlil January, 1886, when J. H. Appleton, of Spring- 
lield, .Mass., became president. August 27th, 1886, 
.Mr. \|)pleton was succeeded by Watson \'an Een- 
thu\sen. of Xew I )rleans, \\ hi 1 in turn ga\e jdace to 
W. W. ('.il)bs. of rhiladelpliia, in 1887. Then, as the 
liridge a]>proaciied completion, it became necessary to 
look up a jiractical railroad man of large experience 
to take charge, and John S. Wilson, of Philadelphia, 
general traffic manager of the Pennsylvania Railroad, 
was selecteil. The other officers elected in 1888 were: 
John 1. I'latt, vice-president; W. R. Carlisle, secre- 
tary and treasurer : P. P. Dickinson, chief engineer. 

( )n the 29th of August, 1888, the last pin was 
driven in the cantilever span between pier No. 5 and 
the east shore, making the connection from shore to 
shore complete, though the viaducts or approaches 
were not finished until well into Decemlier. The first 
train crossed December Jijth. 

When the bridge became a certainty those who 
were furnishing the capital tried to acquire the Pough- 
keepsie and Eastern, 1 but Mr. H. D. Cone, a paper 
manufacturer of Chicopee, Mass., who had purchased 
it before the reorganization of 1887, refused to sell, 
though offered double what he had paid for it. Rather 
than submit to his traffic proposition a new railroad 
was built to parallel the P. and E. from Poughkeepsie 
to Silvernails. on the Hartford and Connecticut West- 
ern, which had been purchased as the eastern connec- 
tion. The western line to Campbell Hall and May- 
brook, wliere it meets the l^rie, Ontario & Western and 
Eehigh Railroads, was built, and then the east and 
west lines were consolidated as the Central Xew Eng- 
land and Western. Partly perhaps by b.id manage- 
ment till' Si)ringfield connection was delayed beyond 
the limit of its charter and the railroad was "bottled 
u])" at 1 I art ford until IQ03, when the Springfield line 
was ])iisheil through after sever;d uot.'ible legislative 
and legal battles at Hartford. In the meantime the 
Dutchess County Railroad to Hopewell Junction, to 
connect with the New York and New England (now 
1 ligiiland Division N. Y., N. H. & IL) was construct- 
ed, thus carrying out another favorite project of earl- 
ier days. 

The Ijridge and connecting railroads have been of 
considerable benefit to Poughkeepsie, but have so far 



lUiuIer Mr, Cone's management this railroad was namcil 
the "New York and Massachnsctts Railroad." Mr. Cnnc Imr- 
rowcd money of Russell Sage, and at length Mr. Sage had to 
take the railroad, which he still owns. He restored the origi- 
nal name. 



fallen \ery far short of expectations. Of course all 
early subscribt-rs to the stock lost their money, as the 
whole s\stem has been twice reorganized, but the 
bonds, though not ]ia}ing, have generall}' lieen worth 
u|)wards of f^io. In iX(|j, when .\rchil).-dd A. Mc- 
Leod, president of the Reatling Railroail, undertook to 
carry out a bold scheme of con.solidating the Reading, 
Jersey Central, Central New England and Boston & 
Maine railways, the future of the bridge seemed as- 
sured, but Mr. McLeod's gigantic plans created con- 
sternation among the managers of other older systems, 
other caf)italists combined against him and the plans 
failed. 

.\ow, in 1904, the Central New Englantl has fallen 
into the control of the Xew York, New Haven and 
Hartford, greatest of Xew England railroad combina- 
tions, and the bridge has become the "connecting 
link'' its promoters so long predicted betw^cen the 
Pennsylvania coal fields and New England. The 
change has brought increased passenger and freight 
facilities to Poughkeepsie, and the great bridge across 
the Hudson River may yet prove of as much advan- 
tage to the city as had been expected. 

Till'; Oi.D .\Ni) Tui; New — Tin-; Ri\'i;k Fuoxt. 

The building of the Poughkeepsie P>ridge marks 
the triiunph of the railroads over the river, and by the 
time it was finished many changes had taken place or 
were in i)rogress along the river front. More than 
half of the prosperous establishments once there 
ha\e n(jw giine out of existence, and others are slowly 
taking their places. Locations fronting both river and 
railroad are valuable, but locations accessible only by 
river are not frequently sought. The consolidation of 
;l11 the river freighting at Main Street was noted in 
the last chapter. It is said to have been originally the 
intention of llomer Ramsdell and his friends to make 
the PIpper Landing the terminus of the boats, which 
were to connect there with the Poughkeepsie and East- 
ern Railroad, but it is difficult to see how llu' railroad 
could have ])ei'n brought there, even if its funds h;id 
ln'cn ;niipK'. It remains to be noted that l'.i|il;iin John 
I 1. ISrinckerbotT,' who purchased control of the Trans- 
portation Com])any in 1878. comjileted the ilowufall of 
the L^iUKT Landing in 1870, when he abandoned the 
old fi.'rr\ landing, .aud brought the ferry also to Main 
Street. < )ne of the old I'jiper Pauiliug storehouses 
was torn down about the liuu' of the building of llir 
bridge, but the largest was bunieil in July, iSiji, and 
on its site was erected in 18(14 the ni'w power house of 
tlic electric lighting company. Main Street Landing, 
too, has been the scene of a number of recent changes, 
'See .Appendix for biographical sketch. 




Capt. JOHN II. BRIXCKERHOFF. 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 



233 



When the Poughkeepsic Transportation Company had was again contracted in 1SS4 and was tinallv filled and 



been merged into the Central Hudson Steamboat Coni- 
])anv tile old Exchange House was purchased and torn 
(Idwn, and the present waiting room was erected in 
iijuo. The last proprietor of the Exchange House was 
Isaac H. Wood. 

The dye wood mills of Clifford. Sherman & limis 
kept the ii|iper neighbnrlmdd Ijusy with frequent shi|i- 
loads of lug wood arriving frum the West Indies f(ir 
.some time after the renmxal uf the freight boats and 
the ferry, but in 1884 this firm, whose business had 



drained 'in 1899. 

The great X'assar brewery after the death uf Mat- 
thew \'assar. Jr., and John C,u\ N'assar, graduall\' lust 
its trade. partl\ uwing lu ouin])licatinns uf uwnership, 
and partly tu .Mr. ( )livi-r II. Ilnuib's interest in buat- 
building ami iplher outside matters. .Xbunt ten \ears 
agu it Ceased operations, and the buildings lia\e re- 
mained idle. e.Ncept fur tempurary uccu])atiun uf the 



Water Street front as a 
chase was contemplatec 



Hmt\ jail in li^oj. Their pnr- 
a few years agu by a euld 



been une uf the most profitable in Poughkeepsie, failed, .storage company which failed to obtain enuugh caiiital 

and though reorganized and continued for some fif- to carry out its plans. 

teen years, lack of capital and the increasing competi- The ship-building indnsti\ has almust ceased since 



1 







T/if /hiiM/ilctpiU- J ran Hoiki.. (Sfr Appi-iidi.v.) 



tion of chemical dyes caused its downfall, and in 1902 
the mills were dismantled. The oldest of the build- 
ings, north of the Fall Kill, passed into the hands of 
the New York Central and Hudson River Railroail 
Company recently, and was torn down in 1905. Three 
of the buildings are still in use by other manufacturing 
concerns, but of the old Upper Landing industries 
only the chair factory and the Arnold lumber yard re- 
main, and the chair factory is the only establishment 
in the city still using water power from the Fall Kill. 
.V little farther up stream the manufacture of carpets 
by the Peltons was abandoned in 1891, though the 
main building is occupied by smaller manufacturing 
establishments. The old Pelton Mill pond, much re- 
duced in size when the other ponds were destroyed. 



the failure of the second bridge company, which made 
use of George Polk's shipyard and never paid him for 
it. lie had been established there since 1867. Dr. C. 
1). Aliller has built a number of yachts and George 
lUickhout occasionally builds boats, though mainly oc- 
cujjied as an ice yacht builder, at which no one in the 
country excels him. 

Iron smelting still flourishes intermittently at the 
Poughkeepsie Iron Works, though much of its glory 
has departed. The old Lower Furnace (See page 143) 
has disai)peared completely, and its once busy wharves, 
piled high with ores, coal and limestone, are slowly 
rotting. The last iron was made there in July, 1885, 
and the buildings were pulled down a few years later. 
Mr. Frank 1!. Lown. who purchased the property, has 



234 



HISTORY OF POUCH KEEPSIE 



improved the houses, which were formciiy the homes 
of furnace operatives, and they are still cieciipied. In 
the old davs, hcforc the competition of western and 
southern iron hecame so keen, the Poughkecpsie fur- 
naces were operated ahnost continuously, and when 
the iron market was low thousands of tons of pig iron 
were ])iled along the river front, awaiting a rise in 
jiricc. A small fleet of harges, canal boats and sloojis 
was often moored at the furnace wharves loading iron, 
or discharging ore, coal or limestone. One of the 
stacks at the Upper (nmv the only) Furnace has been 
rebuilt and is alone capable of producing mure iron 
than the four stacks of both establishments fornieily 
turned out. Since the death of Albert E. Tower, in 



lingvvood property, south uf the Lower Landing. This 
factory makes machines fm- separating cream from 
milk, machines fur which there is a steadil}' increasing 
demand, and hence the factory has been rapidly grow- 
ing initil it now occupies twice the territory originally 
given it. including the old Polk shipyard, and employs 
three or four times mure men than when first opened. 
Its power is transmitted by electricity from a dynamo 
driven by the onl}' turbine engine so far installed in 
the city.i 

In the same neighborhood is I,ane Uruthers' manu- 
factory of hardware specialties, brought to Pough- 
keepsie from Milllirook in 1882, by John G. antl Wil- 
liam T- I.ane. This business, like the cutting of dye 




I^c/.ai'it/ Sipaia/oi' Company's /'/mil. 



l8<)l, the pi'operty has been owned b_\' his son, .\. 
I'.ilward Tower. 

Two large new industries on the river front go far 
towards making uj) for the loss of the older estab- 
lisJiments. The Poughkeepsie Glass Works^ (Sec il- 
lustration p. 118) were started on the site of the old 
whale dock buildings in March. 1880, and have grown 
to considerable proportions. The original plant was 
nearly all burned in 1897 and was rebuilt soon after- 
wards, with much eidargement and improvement. 

The De Laval Separator Company, of Stockholm, 
Sweden, built a branch factory here in 1892, the 
Board of Trade raising by subscription from citizens 
$10,000 for the purchase of the site, a part of the Col- 

ipor further particulars see Appendix. 



woods in 1 'ouglikt'cpsie. (see ]). 117) was an out- 
growth of I'leriah Swift's inventions, and the Swift 
coffee. si)ice ami drug mills were long a lea<liug fea- 
liu'c. The I.ane docjr hangers are jierhaps tlie most 
widely known of the productions of this factory. The 
mamifactin"e of the I.ane steam atitomobile is now an 
important bi'ancb. 

.\dri.ince. I'latt and Com])an\"s business has con- 
tinued to expand steadily, and large buildings have re- 
cently been added to the plant. Until 1892 the general 
offices of this com])any had beeti located in New York, 
but in tli,-il year an office building was erected in con- 
nection with the factory, and the office force was 
brought here. The importance of this neighborhood 

iFor further particulars sec .\ppendi.K, 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 



235 



was considerably increased by the removal of the rail- 
road freight house and office from Main Street to 
Tulip Street, near Pine, in 1885. 

The tanning industry continued on a small scale 
at the old Southwick yard until 1889, long outlasting 
the up-to\vn tanneries conducted b\' the Boyd family. 
Passing along the river front one linds uK.st nf the 
lumber business still centred there, but (inly two firms 
continue the coal business there, one of which also has 
an up-town \ard connected with the bridge system of 
railniads, where all the others arc located. 



IJ^^^^W: 




A'. )'. C. & H. h\ R. K. M.i.i.f/, „, J/„,„ . v'/, ,■/, /hforr the 
/•'nis/ii House icas moved. 

The Oi.u and the New — Ur- Town Industries. 

JMany changes have taken place among the smaller 
manufacturing industries of the city, away from the 
water front. Adam Caire died in i8f)6. and the mak- 
ing of pottery was abandoned a few years later. 
Wagons and carriages are still made by a number of 
firms, and Horace Sague has recently built a new shop 
on Church Street, but the competition of the machine- 
made wagons of the great western factories has caused 
a great decline in the business. Most of the buildings 
on upper Main Street, east of Hamilton, once devoted 
to wagon making, have now been converted into stores, 
and nearl\- all the down-town factories long since 
ceased operations. Others have been converted into 
selling agencies and repair shops. The Edward Storm 
Spring Company, which in the early part of the period 
under consideration was doing a large business on the 
north side of Main Street, 437-441, above Hamilton, 
has passed away. Streit and Lockwood, one of the 
oldest wagon-making firms, sold out in April, 1S85, 
and Lewis F. Streit died in March, 1891. The selling 
and repairing of bicycles and automobiles has grown 
to considerable proportions, but is hardly likely ever 
to occupy so important a position as the old wagon and 
carriage factories once held. 

The old Main Street foundries that used to pro- 
duce a wide variety of cast iron ware, baye gone, but 



the Poughkeepsie Foundry and Machine Company only 
abandoned its Main Street plant in 1904, and continues 
on a larger scale than ever at its new north side plant 
erected on grounds that had been used for several 
years as a baseball field. The erection of another new 
north side factory has just been started (May, 1905) 
on Parker Avenue, by the Chapinville Wheel Company, 
which had been located in the old Red Mills buildings 
since 1894. when it was removed to Poughkeepsie 
from Chapinville, X. Y. .\. J. Glass is the president. 

A rather inconspicuous but very important indus- 
try is the manufacture of Smith Brothers' cough dro()s 
in Church Street, cast of the Armory. This business 
has grow n up since 1873. and has long been very profit- 
able. A considerable ])art of the profits have been 
contributed every \ear to the various charitable insti- 
tutions (if the city, as stated elsewhere. 

The Whitehousc shoe factory is one of the largest 
of the establishments which have passed away. Mr. 
Whitehouse died in August, 1881, but the factory con- 
tinued in apparently prosperous condition under the 
management of his son-in-law, Eugene N. Howell, 
until 1 89 1, when it failed. The plant was purchased 
by Wallace, Eliot & Co., and shoe manufacturing was 
continued there until about 1900. After standing idle 
for a short time the buildings passed into the hands of 
the American Cigar Company, and are now devoted to 
cigar manufacturing. A valuable off-shoot of the 
Whitehouse business was the prosperous shoe factory 
at Main and Water Streets, started by George M. 
Hine (the present Mayor) and C. E. Lynch, both of 
whom had been associated with Mr. Whitehouse and 
Mr. Howell. This factory occupies what was for- 
merly the Beardsley sash and blind factory. 

Cigar making has been and still is an important in- 
dustry carried on 1)\' man\- persons. The most exten- 
sive manufacturer of band made cigars has been John 
Schwartz, and next to bim Court B. Cunley. 

Some very important industries were started soon 
after the panic. This seems, in fact, to have been the 
time of the beginning of the manufacture of clothing 
in Poughkeepsie on any considerable scale, and also the 
beginning of the extensive employment of women and 
girls in local factories. Lasher, Haight & Kelley. who 
were in the dry goods business at 332 Main Street, 
formed the Dutchess Manufacturing Company, leased 
a brick building on Cherry Street, opposite the White- 
house factory, and began the manufacture of skirts 
in 1875. The building had been erected a few years 
before for the tanning and dressing of French kid, 
by a patented process, which was not successful. In 
1878 George D. Eighmie erected a good-sized building 
on Crannell Street and began the manufacture of 




l-'atloiy vj the l'oH;^hl;i\fsit I iid, 



ulHn,^ 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 



287 



shirts on a large scale. In 1888 the Dutchess Manu- 
facturing- Company purchased this building, antl has 
since been located there. Lasher and Kelley had sold 
their interest to William Forby, and at his death in 
1871 J, J. Frank Hull, the present head of the company, 
purchased an interest. The manufacture of skirts and 
iither articles was gradually abandoned and the fac- 
tory, thougli nnich enlarged, now makes (}nlv truusers. 

The old Cherry Street factury building stood idle 
for a long time, but in ii)02 was purchased by the 
Poughkeepsie Underwear Comi>any, which had been 
organized in igoo with Robert .Stuart, ])revionsly of 
New Hamburgh, as president. In the meantime Don- 
ald, Converse and Maynard Iiad started tlie manufac- 
ture of overalls, under the name (if the Fallkill Man- 
ufacturing Company, in a brick building erected in 
Mechanic Street fur a sbnc factory. This liiisiness 
passed into the hands of .Messrs. luistmead and Os- 
borne, who were joined liy Mr. Lasher in 1S87. Event- 
ually this factory failed and the building is now used 
in the manufacture of linen mesh underwear. 

To take up an entirely ditTerent line of industries, 
those operating under public franchises — competition 
in gas lighting began with the organization of the 
Citizens' Gas Company, of which Augustus L. .Mien 
and Horatio Allen were the chief local promoters. 
This company purchased eight acres of land on Laurel 
Street, and erected a plant for the manufacture of 
what was generally called "water gas," in 1875. This 
plant is still in use, though nuich enlarged. The inevit- 
able consolidation of the two companies came in 1887, 
after which the older Ilayeaux Street establishmeiU 
was abandoned. 

The first electric lights in Poughkeepsie were put 
up by Dorsey Neville, who erected a dynamo at r)id- 
lard's foundry on Main Street, in 18S4. His interests 
were i)urchascd by the Poughkeepsie Electric Light 
and Power (.'oinjiany. which filed its certiticate of in- 
corporation April Jnd. 1SS3. with lojm If. llrincker- 
hoft', C. A. Fowler, Janus II. Ward, F. J. .Mien, Ivl- 
ward IT. Goff, Martin \ . I'.rady, William Kaess, John 
R. Lent and General .Mfred 11. Smith named as direc- 
tors. .Ml were residents of Poughkeepsie except 
Messrs. Gofl', Brady and Fowder, wdio in 1886 sold 
their interests to Mr. A. M. Young and a party of 
gentlemen from \\'atcrbtn"y. Ct., including ]). S. 
Plume. r>. G. Pryan and P'. T. Turner. Capt. Ilrinck- 
erhoft', who had been the fir.st president, was succeeded 
by James II. Ward, and the plant on Winnikee Avenue 
erected by Air. Goft" was doub'ed in size. Says the 
Souvenir Ea,s;lc: "The company is chiefly indebted 
to Gen. .\. P). Smith, James H. Ward. Peter T^. \ an 
Wag-enen, Willard H. Crosby. Peter 11. Havt and 



John R. Lent, of Poughkeepsie, and Mr. A. M. Young. 
of Waterbury, Ct., for the success of the enterprise." 
In Aiiril. 1886, the company securrd the contract for 
lighting the streets at $18,000 per annum, and since 
June 1st of that year they have been continuously 
lighted by electric arcs. John N. Candee became man- 
ager of the company at its organization and rem.ained 
until the consolidation with the gas compan\- in igoi. 
Telephones were introduced into this cit\- by the 
.Automatic Signal Telegraph Compan\ in June, 1878. 
The company had been organized in ( )ctol)cr. 1877, by 
John I. Piatt, Henry S. Frost and Samuel K. Rupley 
to handle the patents of William I>. Watkins "for im- 
l^rovcments in fire and l)urglar alarms, telegra])bs and 
< liber inventions." .\n automatic fire alarm was the 
leading feature, but had not been sutficienLly perfected 
to be commercially successful when the telephone be- 
gan to attract attention. John I. Piatt was the first 




Jl/iiiii S/ifi'l ill iSSo. 

president, and under his leadership the stock held by 
the promoters of the Watkins patents w'as purchased, 
their interests extinguished and telephones introduced 
instead. The idea of a central .system connecting the 
people of a town was. so far as is known, suggested 
by Mr. Piatt, and the "exchange" constructed here was 
the third in existence, having been preceded by New 
Haven an<l .Mban\'. The first telephones connected 
with it were the Eagle office, Mr. Piatt's house, the of- 
fice of the city w'ater board and the pumping station, 
.\ few private telephones had been put in, chiefly as ex- 
periments before this. The telphone company was suc- 
cessful from the start, and by May, 1880, there were 
106 subscribers in the exchange. The name "Hudson 
River Telephone Company" came into existence not 
long after this to designate the joint ownership of a 




JUllX 1. I'LATT. 



History of poughkbepsib 



239 




AI.I.ISiiN lU'TTS. 



cable laid across the river at Xew Ilaniburqli, by the 
Poughkeepsie, Xewburgh and Fishkill telephone com- 
panies, each of which built lines to connect with it. 
The consolidation of the varions river companies under 
this name was effected later by Mr. II. L. Storke, 
representing the parent Bell Telephone Company. 

A rival telephone company, the Dutchess County, 
was incorporated in 1900, and obtained a franchise 
from the Common Council on condition that its wires 
in the main streets should be placed underground. 
Since that time both companies have laiil conduits in 
Main and Market Streets, and it is expected that within 
the next few years all telephone and telegrajih wires 
will be put underground. 

JNIuch of the best enterprise of Poughkeepsie has al- 
ways been devoted to retail trade, which has attained 
a development greater than in many cities of even 
larger size, in spite of the competition of the metropo- 
lis. I have seen no record of an organization of mer- 
chants earlier than about 1883, when the Butchers 
and Grocers' Association was formed, with J. DuBois 
Carpenter president, and James If. Ward treasurer, 
but it is probable that something of Ihc sort had ex- 



isted before. This association was reorganized as the 
Retail Merchants' Association in February, 1886, and 
soon obtained a much enlarged membership. It fre- 
quently takes action on ])ublic questions, not political 
in their nature, and joins in all efforts to improve the 
city. In 1887 and again in September, 1888, the as- 
sociation brought itself before the public bv parades 
that attracted a great deal of attention. 

TllK ClIAKTKU OK 1883 RrcIvNT POLITICS. 

The Charter of 1883, already referred to, was 
passed through the influence of Judge Nelson in the 
Senate, and made some important changes besides the 
consolidation of elections. It increased the power of 
the Alayor, making the water board appointive, and 
contained among other things a provision for a Board 
of Police Commissioners to take the control of the 
police force out of the hands of the Common Council. 
The new board organized in July with the following 
members : Allison Butts, Theodore V. Johnston, John 
F. Hull and Dr. Edward F. Parker. The first new 
patrolman appointed was Charles McCabe, the present 
chief of police. The election in November of that 



240 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEBPSIE. 




Hon. martin HKERMAXCR. 



year was sonu'whal luilahlc as one in wliich the £(/t;/(' 
supported a Denioeratic eandiilate — TlKiinas N'ewhold 
— for State Senator ai^ainst Lewis ]•'. I'ayn. Xewlmld 
was elected In a larL;"e niajoritv. 'I'lie first city election 
in Xoveniher was in 1SS4. It was a Democratic year 
— the JUaine-Cleveland canipait^n — Init lUainc carried 
I'ouglikeepsie by 235, and Iv.ra White was elected for 
a third term as Mayor, defi^atin^- ( ). D. M. I'.aker, the 
author of the new charter. 

?\lr. White was nominated for a fourth time in 
iXX(). hut was defeated by Kdward ElsworUi' by 45.S, 
though at the same tinu' jnhn 1. I'latl. numinatrd fur 
his second tt-rm in tlu- .\ssembly. carried the city li\' 
462 over his Democratic ()i)]jont-nl. .Marl in W. C'nllins, 
and Cyrenus P. Borland defeated Mr. l,<>wii for Re- 
corder by 234. Air. Collins, it should be saiil. had no 
ex]iectation of being electi'd and had in fact lu'en a 
supjiorter of Mr. I Matt. In the first Harrison-Cleve- 
land cam])aigu, 1S88, Mayor I'.lsworth was defeated 
by Charles M. Rowley, but in iScjo he was again 
elected Mayor, receiving 447 niore votes than lludson 
Tiivlor. Charles Morschauscr was chosen Recorder at 
this time. The campaign of 1888 was characterized 
by one old-time out-of-door meeting, the E. N. IIow'- 
cll barbecue, held not far from the Driving Park out- 



See p. 249, also Appendix. 



side of the city limits. Chauncey M. Depew was the 
chief speaker. Martin 1 leerm;ince.' then of Rhine- 
beck, was elected District .\tl>irne\ in iSSS, .-md there- 
after for the greater portion of each yi'ar bt'came a resi- 
dent of 1 'nnghkee])sie. 

This was the period of James W. llinkle}"s control 
of the local Dt'mocratic org;mization. in Cov. Ililfs 
;idministration. Mr. llinkle\ pin-chased the t\>iiiih- 
krcf'sic A'cics in iSS;, and .ilso tlu' ll'rckly y'r/r.i^ni/^/f 
;ind the Daily J'irss. so long pnblislu-d by Ivlw.'ird I'.. 
( tsborne. lie consi ilid.ated these newspa]>ers, which 
still ret.-iin tlu' ilouble title Xrws- Press, and AiTe.v- 7V/- 
(■L^rii/^h, ;mil cri'ated a strong personal org;m just at 
the time when the Democratic ii.arty was largely in 
tlu' ascendency. 'I'he A rrcv had been imblished, after 
Mr. Whitehouse's death in 1S81, by a comjiany organ- 
ied .among its employees, including Sanuiel T. I'dagler, 
who rem.-iincd at the he.ad nf lb,' job printing depart- 
ment for ;i long time after .Mr. llinkley's purchase, 
and \\ illiam 1'". I,^■,■lry, who continued to ser\e .as fore- 
man until liis de.'iih in 11)03. 

The discontinuance of The I'rrss as an .afternoon 
newspaper left the field cjpeu for a new paper, and Au- 
gust 6th, 1883, the first number of the Bvening Bn- 

iITc \v;is .nppoiiiteil Stale iisscssor. or tax coinmis,sioiicr, 
in iSi)(i and bccaim- cliairmaii of Ihc board. Sec Appendi-x. 




JAM]-;.S \V. HINKLKY. 



2A2 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSin 



terprise was published by \V. C. Lansing, Edward \'an 
Keuren and Derrick Brown. Messrs. Lansing and 
\'an Keuren had the \ear before purcliased The 
Ihitchcss Farmer, an agricuUural wt'ckly. started April 
6th, iiS6(j, by Egbert I!. KiHey. Jr., and ^[r. I'.rown, 
wlio had been tlie editor of The Xezv's, iniiu-il them 
when it was decided to start a new (hiily. I'lie Enter- 
prise has alwaxs been, under Mr. Brown's editorship, 
an inde]x-ndent Democratic paper, and has continued in 
the saine building on Main Street where the Telegraph 
was jjublished in the time of Edward B Killey, Sr., 
and wlierc the Diifehess Tanner was published In- his 
son. This building is said to have been a newsjiaper 
office for more than 75 _\ears, but in 1004 was com- 
pletely changed in apjiearance and rebuilt with an 
additional stor\' .md a new front. 




0/1/ 'J'lU'giapIt {later Jinkrprise) Jliiildiiig. 

Returning to politics, the Democrats in 1S90-91 
were concentrating their efforts upon the cajiture of 
the State Legislature. At the election of iS<)t tluv 
obtained a majority in the Assembly, gaining one 
member in Dutchess, where John A. Vandewater de- 
feated .Archiljald Rogers, but on the face of the returns 
they lacked one or two of a majority in the Senate. 
Then occurred the celebrated case of the "quad- 
marked" ballots, or the "Dutchess County Case." The 
majority of Gilbert A. Deane for Senator, in the Sen- 
atorial district comprising the counties of Dutchess, 
Putnam and Columbia, was small enough, only 78, to 



invite attack, and looking the ground over the Demo- 
crats discovered that a number of the ballots, printed 
under county authority, had a black ink mark on them, 
made by a high "quad," or space in the printing. 
These, they claimed, were "marked for identification," 
and the Board of Supervisors, sitting as canvassers, 
and strongly Democratic, was induced to throw out 
31 such ballots, cast for the Republican ticket in tlie 
Town of Red Hook, and to make enough other changes 
in the original return to give Edward B. Osborne, the 
veteran Poughkeepsie editor, a majority. The Repub- 
lican County Clerk, Theodore A. Hoft'man, refused to 
sign the certificate of the board, and John J. Mylod* 
was appointed secretary pro tem. Thus came into ex- 
istence the celebrated Mylod certificate, about which 
a legal battle immediately began, the details of which 
are too voluminous for repetition- here. It is suffi- 
cient to say that the Republicans obtained a mandamus 
compelling the Board of County Canvassers to recon- 
vene and grant a certificate of election to Gilbert A. 
Deane, and obtained an order from the Court of Ap- 
peals, which was unanimously Democratic, forbidding 
the State Board to canvass the Mylnd return. Mean- 
\vhile Governor Hill removed Ccmnty Clerk lloftman 
and a])pointed Storm Enians in his place. Mr. Emans, 
alter having mailed the corrected returns to Albany, 
went there by a night train and took the ccii)ies frum 
tile mail of the State officers to which they were di- 
rected and brought them back to Poughkeepsie. Final- 
ly the State board, in defiance of all the court orders, 
granted the certificate of election to Mr. Osborne, ami 
the Democrats obtained the coveted control nf the 
Siuate. Roswell P. Flower, who was elected Gover- 
nnr at the same election, rewarded the leading Pough- 
kie]isie particijiants in the ;iffair, making William 11. 
Will 111. will I liad been attunu'v t'nr the I'.oard of Sn- 
|i(r\ isnfs, ehairnian of the ."^tate I'.oard of .\sses,sors. 
but each of the members of the State I'.oard of Can- 
vassers was afterwards fined for contempt of court. 
James W. Ilinkley became chairman of the Democratic 
State Committee during Governor Flower's leriii. 

The indejiendent ])ress of the State and many of 
the Denioeratic newspapers, including thi' I'.nter prise. 
joined the Republicans in denunciali<iu of Governor 
Ilill and his associates in this captinx' of tlu' Si'ti- 
ate. and public opinion began to set against the Dem- 
ocratic party. In the spring of 1892 a Republican Board 

iPiililic opinion generally exonerates Mr. Mylod of any 
intentional wrongdoing in the matter, for the Court of Ap- 
peals afterwards decided that the clerk of the Board of 
Canvassers was not responsihle for its action, and was hound 
to affix his signature to the returns adopted by it, 

2For full story of the legal battle see "The Dutchess 
County Case," a pamphlet published by John I. I'latt in 1892. 




Hon. CHARLES N. ARNOLD. 
{For biographical sketch see Appendix.) 



; ' - " - ' riH>^ Alt ' J" ITT 



ISi*i> i«<«r »;*** lu-- 



Mff^-r. litoMlii^ «»t 




SAMnU. H. KROWN. 
(For biograp/iiail skc/t/i scr . Ipfniidix. ) 




JUDGK JOSEPH MOR.SCHAl\SER. 
{For biographical sketch sec Appendix.) 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 



247 



had succeeded Theodore W. Davis in 1881, was given 
the title of City Engineer. A new filtering basin 
was added to the city's water plant in 1896, doubling 
the filtration capacity. This was covered with con- 
crete arches in 1904 and during 1905 the old filter 
beds were also reconstructed and covered, bringing 
them fully up to the latest requirements, and effecting 
a great saving in operation in winter, when the removal 
of ice has always been difficult and expensive. 

In 1902 the time-honored offices of Recorder and 
justice of the peace were abolished, and the Mayor 
was given power to appoint a city jmlge, with juris- 
dictii)n over certain civil cases. Joseph Altirschauser, 



more of management. Dr. O. M. Shedd owned and 
conducted it for several years, and then sold to Wil- 
liam R. Maloney, wlm after a few years sold to a cor- 
]3oration represented In C. W. H. Arnold, and it then 
became a Republican paper. 

TnK Xkw X'assak College. 

The developmnil nf the new \"assar College has 
been a most important inlhience in making Poughkeep- 
sie what it is to-day. This has been accomplished un- 
der the presidency of James M. Taylor since 1886, 
and received its first financial support fr<im the large 
sums left b\ the founder's nephews. Matthew X'assar, 




T/ir Frederick /•'. '/'/loiiipsoii lA iiu 

then Recorder, was made the first city judge. The 
charter of 1896 created the office of Alderman-at- 
Large. to preside over the Common Council. Thomas 
Jillard was the first elected and was succeeded by Dr. 
Charles E. Lane,' still in office. The charter of 1901 
provided for salaries, $500 for the mayor, and $100 for 
the president of each board. 

A fourth daily newspaper was started in I'ough- 
keepsie April 24th, 1889, by William X. Sanford, 
John J. Bagnall, Jr., and Joseph Schepmoes. It was 
at first called Poiighkccpsic, but before the end of the 
year the name was changed to the Evening Star. It 
has passed through several changes of ownership and 

iSee page 257, also Appendi.x. 



n till Library at I 'assai' Co/icgi:. 

Jr., who died in August, 1881, and John Guy X'assar, 
who died in ( )ctober, 1888. They had built in 1879 
what may be described as the first new building — the 
\'assar ISrothers' Laboratory, but the first gift of a 
building from anyone outside of the Vassars was fin- 
ished after Dr. Taylor took charge, — the Eleanor 
Conservatory, built by W. R. Farrington in 1886. 
Matthew Vassar, Jr., was treasurer of the college un- 
til his death, and left it a fund of $50,000 for scholar- 
ships, and $80,000 to endow two professorships — 
Oeek and Latin, Physics and Chemistry — "provided 
that each of the said professors shall be of my own 
sex, and that if this provision shall be violated by the 
appointment to either one of such chairs of a person 



248 



H I S T R Y OF POUCH KBEPSIE. 



of the other sex then the fund hereby given 1 declare 
shall be withdrawn and be de])osited with the treasurer 
of tin- Cit\- of I'oughkee])sie towards the extinguish- 
nient of the debt of said city." 

i 'resident 'J'a\!nr found affairs at rather a low ebb. 
and the collei^e nuicli depentk'Ut u])on the income from 
the students, lie had the couraj^e to recommend the 
abolition of the i)rci)aratory department, which in- 
volved a reduction nf numl)crs and of income, and 
with sonu- tre])idation the trustees made the recnni- 
mendati(jn etf"ecti\c in iSS-. The next year Jdhn Ciuy 
X'assar died, leaving $8o,ooo to endow professurships, 
and $6o.ooo to endow the laboratory and the music 
and art departments, and making the college one of his 
three residuary legatees, h'rom the last provision 
came a large increase of endowment, which was not 
obtained, however, until 1891. after nuich litigation. 
The college began to grow- rapidly about this time, and 
when enlarged equipment was needed other benefactors 
came forward, chief anmng whom has been John D. 
Rockefeller and b'rederick !•'. Tln)mpson. Strong 
llall. the first of four new dormitories, was built in 
i8(),^ and at once filled with students. In 1895 ^^ ind- 
sor Hall, originalh- the lirooks Seminary school build- 
ing in l'oughkee|)sie, a mile away, was rented. In 
1897 another residence building named from the tirst 
president. Dr. Raymond, was erected, and also Rucke- 
feller TIall for recitations, named from its donor. Air. 
Thompson built the present library at the entrance of 
the main building in 1892, and the magnificent libiary 
now nearl)' finished is the gift of his widow. Two 
dormitories, imk- named for Rev. Edw'ard I.atbro]), 
])resident of the board of trustees for twenty-five years, 
and the other for .Mr. Rockefeller's mother, Kliza 1 )avi- 
son. were liuill in Hjoi and l()c>-. 

Ilefore this time \'ass;ir alunni;e were 1)eginning to 
lie in a imsition to show their loyalty. The gynni;is- 
inm. built in 1889, was their first large gift. In 1000 
.Mrs. I'.dward S. .'Xtwater, of Poughkce])sie, built the 
Swift Inlirniary, in memory of her father, Charles W. 
Swift: the New I'.ngland alunnia' built the New F.ng- 
land lluilding. di-voted to biology and natural science, 
in Kjoi. and the beautiful new cha])el, opened in June. 
1904, is the gift of two graduates, Mrs. Mary Thaw 
Thompson, 'jj. and Mrs. Mary IMcn-ris Pratt, '80. 
Tlie new ccjuijinient made new endowment necessary, 
and about $175,000 was raised in KJ04, largely through 
the efforts f)f the alunni;e. Mr. Rockefeller doubled 
this sum, about $15,000 of which w^as contributed 
bv citizens of Poughkceiisie. Important events in the 
recent history of \'assar College were the celebration 
of the 25tli anniversary, in June, 1890, and the produc- 
tion of the (/reek play, .\ntigone. May 26, l8(),V 



The iJiiMiKAcrioxs oi' M.\tthkw ^^.\ss.\R, Jr.. .and 
Joiix Guv \".\SS.\R. 

The John Guy \'assar will case deserves more than 
passing notice, as several of the benefactions of the 
X'assar brothers were involved, and nearh' all the 
]ironiinent lawyers of Poughkeepsie were retained. 
( )ne of Mr. X'assar's chief projects was the founding 
of an or])han asylum on College Hill, which he had 
purchased. This proposed asylum, and the \'assar 
brothers' Hospital, which had been founded by Mat- 
thew \ assar. Jr.. were made residuary legatees with 
\ assar College. As the asylum was not yet incorpor- 
ated the legal question of indefinite .svispension of own- 
ership arose, and the executors, Penjamin M. Fowler, 
( )liver 11. Pooth and Edward \'an Kleeck sought a 
judicial construction, making the next-of-kin ])ar- 
ties to the action. \'arious other questions, one of 
them as to the right of X'assar College to receive more 
mone\- than its charter authorized, were raised. The 
college had an income from invested funds, at this 
time, of about $25,000 a \ear. and its holdings were 
limited to an amount sufficient to yield $40,000 a year. 
Judge Homer A. Nelson went very fully into this part 
of the case, consulting Joseph H. Choate, now U. S. 
.\mbassador to Great Pritain, and at length in March, 
i8()i, the college settled with the next-of-kin by paying 
them $146,000, which is to be deducted from its share 
of the residuary estate given below. 

At this time, when the case was about to be argued 
before the Court of .\ppeals at Alliany. a])pearances 
were noted as follows: 

I "or the executor.s — Frank V>. Lnwii' and II. .\. Nelson. 
I'.ir Vassar College— Cyrus Swan and I<.oI)en K. Taylor. 
I''or Vas.sar Brothers' lln^pital -.Mlison I'.utls. 
I'^n- Vassar Orplian .\syluMi — I'"rank Ilashnmek. 
For Vassar Brolhers' Old Men's Home— John P. H. Tall- 
man. 

I'or the I'.aplisl Chnreh — Walter Farrington. 

l'"or Vass.ir I'.rnilu-rs' luslitnle— 1 lerriek & Losey. 

Ilenrv .M. Taylor ( Comity Judge 1871-1877), Fred- 
erick W. I'ugsle\-. C\renns P. Dorland (Surrogate), 
\\'illiam R. Woodiii. Ilackett .K: Williams, J. II. Mil- 
lard. Peon.-ird I'.. Sackett. and two or three Xt'w N'ork 
lawyers rrprt-sented the next-of-kin. In \\n\\ lh>' 
coni't handed down its decision declaring the or]ih;m 
asylum clauses in\alid and also a ln'quest of $10,000 
to the Pajitist Chmch. thus greatlv increasing the 
residu;iry estate. In the final accounting Vassar Col- 
lei^e and tlu- \ assar Hospital each received about 
$5().3,0()(), in addition to the special bequests. 

•Mr. Lown's two partners, John Thompson and James H. 
Weeks, hoth died after the date of the will— Mr. Weeks, one 
of the original executors, in 1888, and Mr. Thompson in 
June, 1890. 




Hon. I';I)\\"ARD HLSWORTH. 
Tirnsiiicr of I 'asscrr Co//ix,- tint/ /-ccicf Jfavitr tif /')Hi;h/ct-f/'sit-. 



2b0 



HISTORY OP P U G H K n E P S I E . 



The \'assar Brothers" Hospital liad been the resi- 
(hiarv legatee of the will of Matthew X'assar. Jr.. and 
thus became ime nf the best emlnwcil huspitals in the 
country. The main buililini; was ercctt'il in 1884 on 
what had bei'n (ince Livingston projicrty. in a com- 
man<ling location overlooking the ri\-er. Additions 
nearly doubling its capacity have since been built, and 
its grounds and gardens are celeljrated f(jr their 
beauty. Dr. (riiy C. ]!a}ley has been the superinten- 
dent since the opening. The lilirarv and laborator\- 
building was erected in 189Q. 

The \'assar Brothers' Home f<>r Aged Men was 
fmished in August, 1880. on the site of the residence 
of Matthew \'assar, Sr., corner of .Main and \'assar 
Streets, at a cost of about $45,000. The building will 
accommodate fifty men. but its endowment did not 
provide income sufficient to support the full number, 
until the death of Mrs. Matthew Vassar, Jr., in kjo^. 

X'assar Brothers' Institute was ]ilanned before the 
death <if Matthew \ assar, Jr., but carried out by John 
Gu_\- X'assar. The building was erected on the site of 
the old X'assar Street bre\ver\- in 1882, at a cost of 
$30,000, to provide a home for two local societies, Tlic 
Poiii^likcrpsic Literary Club an<l Tlic Poii:^liki\'l^sic 
Society of Xatiiral Srinwc. The first nf these had 
been organized ( )ctober 18, 1869, with Dr. E- XX'. 
Avery as president, and its discussions had been at- 
tracting such large audiences that meetin,gs were held 
in V. M. C. .\. hall, then in the Congregational Church, 
or in the Lafayette Street Baptist Chrrch fur a time. 
The second was organized October j", 1874, with Cor- 
lu-lius \ an I'.runl |)resiilrnl. Dr. \X'. (i. Slevensnu \-ice- 
presiilent. W . R. C.erard secri'lary. an<l Charles N. 
.Xrnold treasurer. l'"ach s<iciety mei every two weeks 
to discuss papers pre])ared bv tiieir members, and a few 
men like Dr. Stevenson were i)rc)minent in both. I'ro- 
fessor Truman J. Backus.' (if X'assar CnllL-ge, the last 
president of the Literary Club, became the first presi- 
dent of the Institute in Xnvemiier, l88_', ami the ntlier 
officers were Uev. J. b'.imenddrf vice prisiik-nL Dr. 
XX'. (). Stevenson secrelar\. b'.dward l'',l>w(irlh treas- 
urer. Professor XX'illiam 11. 1 )wight euratnr of the 
nuiseum, 'Professor Ib'nry X an Ingen art director, 
l'"(l\vard Burgess librari.-m. The first officers of the 
sections were: Scientific Section — Professor Ta" Roy 
C. Cooley chairman, C. X. Arnold secretary: Literary 
Section — Rev. E. A. Lawrence chairman. Ilenrx X. 
Pelton secretary: Art Section — Professor llenr\ X'an 
Ingen chairman. Ceorgf h'. Bis.sell secretary. 

'i'be Institute has been and still is an import;int 

•Tnunan J, Backus resigned his professorship at Va.ssar 
College in 1883, and became president of Packer Institute. 
Brooklyn. 



educational force, thougb the decline of interest in 
public lectures has decreased its audiences. Its dis- 
cussions of such (|uestions as good roads, the water 
supply, etc., have heli)ed on several occasions to arouse 
public o])ini<in, and through its collections of local in- 
sects, birds, minerals, etc., it aims to be of service 
to fruit growers and farmers, as well as to students. 
Mechanical drawing classes have been conducted by 
the Art Department. The Literary Section meetings 
were abandoned for a time, but were revived some ten 
years ago imder the chairmanship of John C. Sicklev, 
and have since Ix-en maintained. The rooms are often 
in use for school exercises, and sometimes for the 
meetin.gs of literary, musical or other societies not 
affiliated with the Institute. The most notable of 
these is the Tuesday Club, comprising a membership 
of aliout fifty wouien, many of them X'assar graduates. 
This clul) was started in 1899, chielly through the ef- 
forts of Miss Elizabeth Schermerhorn and Mrs. Ilenrv 
X . Pelton, the latter of whom Ijecame the first presi- 
dent. The Choral Club, a chorus of about fift\- 
women, gives a private concert in the Institute every 
spring under the leadership of Professor George C. 
C.ow, of X'assar College, and the Symphony Society, 
led l)y \X'illiam Lyon Dobbs, holds its rehearsals and 
gi\-es an animal concert there also. 

(iTniCR Bi':\i;FACTro\s axd Organizations. 

Nearly every institution in Poughkeepsic received 
aid at some time or other from the X'assars. but the 
city lias had and still has otlu'r men of wealth who 
ha\e gixen large amounts. Chief among them is XX'il- 
liam \\'. Smith, who came forward, when John Cuv 
X'assar's ])'an for an orphan asylum on College Hill 
hail been c>\'erthrown by the courts. Imuglu the prop- 
ert\- in ( )ctober, 1892, for $11,600, and turned it over 
to the city with plans for its improvement as a public 
|)ark fornu'd and tlu' work started. The nioxenient 
for a College Mill Park was instigated largelv b\ Rev. 
b'rank I learlfielil. then pastor of St. Paul's Church, and 
the ]iropert\- was at first held by a connifittee of citi- 
zens backed by XI r. Sniilh. 

The X'oung Men's C'hristian .Association has been 
one of .XI r. Smith's chief beneficiaries, and the many 
recent aller;itious and improvements have completely 
transi'ormrd the old I'me Mall. The gymnasium was 
for a numln'r of years on the toji fioor. the same room 
being used for an auditorium. A new gynmasium was 
installed on the first lloor and basement after a time, 
anil in 1003 ,•[ handsome swinmn'ng pool was added. 
A billiard room was added to the attractions of tile 
bnililing in 11)04. and many other changes have been 
made within the past \ear or two. Presidents of the 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 



i>51 



\'iiunL; Men's Christian .\ssociatinn liaw htx-n jiih'.i 
11. .MatliL-ws 1863-1869, Leonard C. Winslmv 18O9- 
1870. John I. Piatt 1870-1872, Mitchell Downing 
1872-1875, Edmund P. Piatt 1875-1879, Benson Van 
\liet 1879-1882, William W. Smith 1882-1888, Charles 
r. Ano-ell 1888-1892. William W. Smith 1892-1893, 
C.ilf.ird Dudley i893-i8q(). James I'.. Piatt 1896-1899, 
1). Crosby Foster 1899-1900. U. C. Matthews 1900 — , 

The Young Women's Christian Association has also 
henefited greatly from Mr. Smith's help, and is now 
erecting a building in Cannon Street on the site of the 
historic old church (see p. 121 1 erected by the Pres- 
byterians and used by so many different denomina- 
tions of Christians. The Association was organized 
in 1881 and incorporated in 1884. lis inc<.)rporalors 
were Helen J. Nelson, Harriet R. Howard, Mattie F. 
Johnston, Victoria L. Johns, Roberta S. Ackert, Jennie 
I'lushnell, Winnifred F. Bisbee, Mary JSeattys, Anna C. 
llciwland, Kate Smith, Sarah Bowne, Mary E. Piatt, 
I'.mma 1!. Piatt, Emma Flagler, May Gurney, Lavinia 
I hidley. .\nnie Brewer, Mary Underbill and Angelica 
Criffin. Miss Harriet R. Howard, Mrs. K.dwin 1). 
Baright. Mrs. Homer A. Nelson, Mrs. Iv^bert 1). 
Clapp, Mrs. J. Frank Hull, Mrs. Ivlmund !'. Phitt 
and Dr. Grace N. Kimball have been piesidents of the 
association. Its rooms have been since the start at 
X'o. 361 Main Street, in the Wright Building. 

Mr. Smith has always been much interested in 
Temperance work, and long ago became a leader in 
the Prohibition party. He has been its candidate for 
Governor and other high offices. The Women's Chris- 
tian Temperance Union has been one of his benefi- 
ciaries and largely through his aid was enabled to 
purchase the Poughkeepsie Female Academy in 1880. 
The I'nion was organized as a sim]:ile prayer circ'e 
in 1873, in aid of the Women's Crusade then in pro- 
gress in (Jhio, and has accomplished nuich tnwards the 
spread of temperance sentiment. Mrs. 1 lomer A. Nel- 
son was one of its recent presidents. 

A Charity Organization Society, started in June, 
1879, deserves mention, though no longer in existence, 
because it was an effective agency in the breaking up 
of house-to-house begging, at that time very common. 
The first officers were: President, S. M. lUicking- 
ham ; vice-presidents. Dr. E. H. Parker, Re\-. J. Xilan : 
secretarv, John H. Mathews; treasurer, Alson Ward. 
This socictv was organized by Rev. Edward A. Law- 
rence, who succeeded Rev. James C. Beecher, brother 
of Ilenrv Ward Beecher, as pastor of the Congrega- 
tional Church, in 1875, <i"<' s<-'i'\'ed until 1S83. The 
purposes of the Charity Organization Society were to 
centralize the charity of the city, investigate the claims 
of applicants and stop indiscriminate giving. It en- 



countered considerable oiJposition and after Mr. Law- 
rence left Poughkeepsie ceased active wurk, but was 
revived by Rev. William Bancroft Hill, who became 
pastor of the Second Reformed Church in i88(), and 
finally succeeded in the accomplishment uf considerable 
good. 

The L'nion Rescue Mission was organized, in 1894. 
as a result of meetings started at the Friends Meeting 
House in Montgomery Street, under the following 
committee: Sylvester Pier, Christ Church, president; 
Per Lee .\. Lee, Trinity Methodist C'huich, vice-presi- 
dent; Alfred L. Cartland, Friends Church, treasurer; 
Charles R. Dickinson, First Reformed Church, secre- 
tary; Mrs. Horace Sague, Christ Church, Mrs. Mar\ 
H. Bedell, Friends Church. It was at first called 
"The Peoples' Union Mission," and rented an old sa- 
loon at 42 North Clover Street, where Superintendent 
Charles H. Madison held the first meeting November 
9th, 1894. The corner-stone of the new building was 
laid in ( )ctober, 1896. 

New institutions which contribute something to the 
life and business of Poughkeepsie are the Gallaudet 
Home for Deaf Mutes, established about si.\ miles be- 
low Poughkeepsie in 1885, •^'I'l t'"-' Novitiate of St. 
Andrew, about three miles north in 1902. The latter 
is a Roman Catholic Jesuit institution brought here 
from Maryland, and occupying a large building, on 
what was formerl\ the Stuyvesant place. The Gal- 
laudet Home was burned in Februar\-. upo, and re- 
bui't on a larger scale in 1003. Mrs. C. M. Nelson 
has li ng been jjresident of the board of lady managers. 

Nitw CnuRCHits. 

The principal change in tiie religious situation since 
1873 'las been the increase in the number and strength 
of the Roman Catholics, brought about largely by the 
settlement of immigrants from Italv and Poland, 
Many of the o'der Catholic families have grown in 
prosjjerity and have moved from the First to the Fifth 
.Sixth and Seventh Wards. 

St. Mary's Church soon outgrew the old Cannon 
Street building and ( )ctolier 22d, 18(13. the present 
church, corner of Hamilton ;md Church Streets, was 
dedicated in the pastorate of Rev. Terence J. F",arlev. 
This church cost a great deal more nionev than was 
expected and has struggled under a verv heavv del)t, 
now reduced to about $SO.noo. The Church of the 
Nativity in L'nion Street has been rebuilt, and in 1903 
a Polish Catholic Church was organized and took ])os- 
session of the old Baptist Church in Lafayette Place. 

The onlv other new congregation in the citv with 
suffic'ent ftre;igth to own a building is the Christian 
Scientist, organized .\]iril 2y. l8()8. This church, or 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE 



chai)el, on Market Slif(.t, was erected in 1902. Miss 
Jnlia Frost and Charles H. IJarnes were anions;- the 
first persons interested, and J. Edward Smith and Mrs. 
Brewster were the first readers of the church. 

Several otiur inii)ortant additions have been made 
to the church buildint;s of the city, the first of which 
was the new I'.aptist Church, erected in l87c^ in the 
pastorate of Rev. j. R\lan<l Kendrick. when the old 
Lafayette Street Church was al.jandoned. John C.uy 
and Matthew \ a>>ar, Jr.. were leading contributors 
to the new huildin.!;, which is one of the largest and 
best built churches in the city. Alill Street was 
then and for a number of years afterwards considered 
the most fashionable residence street. 

The building of the new Christ Church, eight years 
later, marks the drift of well-to-do residents to the 
South Side. The old burying ground, bounded by 
Montgomery. Carroll, Barclay and Academy Streets, 
and surrounded by a high picket fence, had been prac- 
tically abandoned since 1871, when the Common 
Council forbade further interments there, and had 
grown up into a dense forest. When the rectory was 
built on the corner of Hamilton and Barclay Streets. 
it was intended that a new church should some day be 
erected adjoining it on Barclay Street, and maps are 
on file showing the lots there so marked. This prop- 
ertv. however, remained unimproved until about 1880. 
and was often made use <>f by the boys as a baseball 
lot. A few \ears later the lots were sold and the 
church anlhorilies resolved to build ui)on the the cem- 
etery ground. The corner-sti me of the new church 
was laid Septenilier 25th, 1887. ami it was consecrated 
.Mav 13th. 1888. bv r.ishop Scarlioniugh. who had 
been the first rector of thi' Cluu-ch of the Moly Com- 
forter. More than half its tmal cost of $120,000 was 
contributed bv Mr. .Mln'rt Tower, whose son in njo,^ 
l)uilt the new rector\ ailji lining. The creation of this 
beautiful church and park has produced the greatest 
of recent changes in I 'nughkeepsie, antl the tearing 
down of the old church in 1889, removed a meinoral)le 
landmark. Rev. I U-my K. /iegenfnss was the rector, 
having served from 1874 until his death in February, 
181J4.. gri'atU belo\cd b\ his parishioners. 

Anntiier ni.w church in the same neighborhood, and 
marking also the growth (if the southeastern section of 
the city, was the Trinity Methiuli-i C'hurcli. corner of 
I faniillon Street and Hooker .Avenue, Innlt from i)lans 
made by Corydon Wheeler, and dedicated April 24th, 
1892, in the pastorate of Rev. G. IT. Gregory. In 
September. 1904, the Methodists celebrated the centen- 
nial of their establishment in Poughkeepsie by services 
in this church in charge of Rev. John J. Reed, and also 
bv a ban(|uet at which Mr. Reed read a poem com- 



memorating the growth of the town and tlie churcli. 

The Friends, or Quakers, have probably changed 
mure in the jiasl thirty years than any other denomi- 
nation, in spite of a loss t:)f memljcrship the Ilicksite 
branch erected a new Meeting House in Lafayette 
Place in 181)4. and the orthodox, or Montgomery Street 
Church, has been modernized. Elmer D. Gildersleeve, 
of this church, is recognized as the second in length 
of service among the ministers of the citv. 

The latest new church, now in progress of con- 
struction, is the Presbyterian, expected to be the hand- 
somest church in the city. This building is to cost 
$115,000. and is largely due to the energy of the pas- 




\VII.I,I.\M \V. SMITH. 

tor. Rev. William P. Swartz, Ph. !)., ;ind in tin- gener- 
osity of William W. Smith, thuugli .Mrs. John F. 
Win>|iiw ;ni(l otlu-rs ha\e been large contributors. 
Pi.'rci\al .M. Llc.iyd is the architect. The commodious 
m;mse adjoining is also tlu' gift of .Mr. Smith. 

Chapi'ls were built by ."^t. Paul's Church, ;il h'.ver- 
grcen i'ark and .Nrlington in i8i)i ancl i8i)_>, lint the 
former has been ab;indoned and added to the litter, 
which ma\ in time become a separate church. The 
Second Rt'formecl Church has estal)iished a chapel at 
Freertown. and additions have been made to several 
churclies. 

]\i;ci:\T PfKi.ic Pmi'kovkmicnts — Schools. 

The beginifing of the ])erio(l of smouth pavements 
has alreacK been noted. ( )ne street, .\cadem\-, has 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE 



liucn niacailamizfd at llic expense of ailjoining pro])- 
(.Tly, from Montgomery Street to Livingston, and near- 
ly all others have been top-dressed with stone an<l 
rdlled. The ])urchase nf a heavy steam road roller 
by the I'luard uf I'liblic W'urks marks about the be- 
ginning of this ini[)rovement. The demand for better 
public schools and school buildings and fur new fire 
C(im])any houses began at alimit the same lime as the 
demand for better streets. 




'///,■ /•>■/,«/ />ti/,/it:ss Coiint\ . l,,td,iiiy. {Sec pat;,- 6-; ). 
\l\'rpiodnilion. culargcd^ of the original seal of I he .ieadeiiiy. 
'The exis/eiiee of /his iii/eres/iiig re/ie 7eas no/ /cmiu'ii /o /lie 
-vri/er un/il all refereiiees lo /he Aeadeiiiy had been printed. | 

The t'ity Library occupied the whole lower floor iif 
the High ScliM..] buil.ling mitil October, 1898, when 
the present beautiful Adriance Memorial T<ibrar\- was 
coiupleted and presented to the city by the children 
of John 1'. Adriance' 1 died January i8tli. iSijil as a 
memorial to their father and mother. L'p to this time 
the library had been in charge of the Hoard of Kdu- 
cation. but the charter was amended to provide for a 
lioard of Library Trustees, and Mayor Isaac W. Sher- 
rill in iSow api>ointed as the first members L Reynolds 
.■\driance. who had long been chairman of the library 
committee of the Hoard of Education, Frank \'an 
Kleeck. Ivlnumd I'latt. John I'. Ambler and William 
II. Frank. In 1872 the library contained less than 
3 000 volumes and the number of books loaned was less 
than 20,000, but at the time of the death of Hon. James 
Emott in 1884 it had grown so that there was not suf- 
ficient accommodation for the 5,000 volumes he be- 
queathed to it. and rather than spend $5,000 to pro- 
vide additional room the taxpayers foolishly rejected 
the gift. In 18117. the last complete year in the High 
School, the nrmber of books was 21,488 and the cir- 
culation 40,707. In 1004 the books numbered 40,109 
and the circulation had risen to 88.276, exclusive of 

If. Reynolds Adriance. John E. Adriance, Marion, wife of 
Silas Wodell. Esq., William A. Adriance, Rev. Harris E. 
Adriance, and Francis H. .\driance. 



0,305 volumes loaned in tlu' |)ulilic schools. Jolm C. 
Sickley has been the librarian since September, 1882. 

The High School obtained a much needed increase 
of room from the remo\-al of the library, and this at 
a time when ]iulilic attention was directed to the 
schools by a controversy which had dixided tlu' I'.oard 
of Education for several years. .\t the Jami.iry meet- 
ing in 1898 Edward Ihirgess, who bad hern superin- 
tendent of schools since the establishment of the office 
in 1878, was removed bv a vote of eight to four, and 
Edwin S. Harris, of Schuylerville, N. Y., was appoint- 
ed in his place. This action was strongly opposed by 
many leading citizens, and "The Eight" were vigor- 
ously denounced. Religious and political questions be- 
came mixed in the controversy. Since 1873 what was 
widely known as "The Poughkeepsie Plan" had pri- 
vailed in connection with two schools. Numbers i 1 and 
12, which had been built and conducted as parochial 
schools by St. Peter's Ronian Catholic Church. The 
buildings were t.aken b\ the city at a nonu'nal rental 
of $1 a year and were conducted as public? schools, 
though out of school hours they could be used liy 
the church for religious services, and this w,-is under- 
stoocl to |iermit opening exercises before school time 
n the morning. The teachers appointed in them were 
a'l members of the Catholic Church, and sonie of them 
members of orders wearing a uniform or g;irb. ( )b- 
jection had been made to the plan froiu tinu- to time 
b\- Catholics as well as by Protestants, but it had gen- 
erally worked smoothly, and during the long and able 
pastorate of Rev. James Nilan at St. Peter's religious 
animosities had been greatly softened. Xow. however, 
the qrestions came up again, and the Board of Educa- 
tion passed a resolution prohibiting the wearing of a 
garb of a religious order by an>- teacher in the public 
schools. This resulted in the withilrawal of "the Sis- 
ters," as they were called, from the te;ichiug force, in 
the leasing of School Xo. 12 at an annual rental of 
$1,000. and in the abandonment of Xo. 11, which was 
then reopened as a i)arochial school. 

Political comp'ications were caused by the faction;d 
contest in i)rogress for control of the loc;d Repuli- 
lican organization between the supporters of Lewis H. 
Vail's leadership and the friends of Robert II. Hunter. 
The Republican members of "the l\ight" or majority 
of the r.oanl of Ivlucation. Dr. Horace R. Powell, 
llelnnis W. I'.arratt and William A. Lawrence, wi're 
classed as Hunter men. whi'e Ceorge E. Crainer. J. 
Si)encer \ an Cleef and I. Reynolds Adriance were 
Vail men. As the 1 lunter men were gaining and in 1898 



'Mr. Van Cleef had long been ;i most active member of 
the linard. deorge Krieger was the only Democratic men- 
mc.T of the minority. 



L':.4 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 



(il)tainc-(l ciMiii>lc'n.- CDiUrol. llie l\ciiul)lican iiKMiiljcrs 
I if "The I'.ij^ht" wcrt- ahk' to maintain tlK-nischrs. while 
tile I )enicicratic nienil)ei"s were in a lil<e pusitiein 
tlininL;h tlie influence of William H. Wocul, a leading 
fiirce in the local organization of his party. Indepen- 
dent school tickets were run in i8()8 and i8()9 and 
])olled a large number of votes, but were not able to 
overcome the combination of the two party organiza- 
tion^. 'riir 11 'ntro\er^\ continued to rage around the 




MARTIN \V. COJJ.INS. 
{For hio«:raphical skiicli si-i- ^ I ppr inii a- .) 

personality and jidlicy nf Ivhvin S. Harris, utitil his 
removal in mk'J .-md the appointment of the present 
supcrinli'iideiit, William A. Smith, but in the meantime 
the charter \\a>> amended in li)oo, reducing the I'.nanl 
of h'.ducation to seven memi)ers, appointed b\ the 
mayor, lion. James L, Williams became the tirst 
president of the new board, which was organized in 
May of that \ear. The others were .Martin W. Col- 
lins. Willett Hoysradt. Frank 11. l.^wn. llelmus W. 
J'.arratt. William II. Wood and Albert ( ). Cheney. 

Opinions naturally still differ as to the merits of 
the original dis])ute, hut the resultant focusing of ])uh- 
lic scrutiny upon the schools disclosed the necessity 
of spending more money on them. l)uring the xears 
immediately following the ])anic of 1873 strict econo- 
my had been the rule. The schools had not advanced 
as in some other places, and the buildings esix'cialh 



were generally oV\ and ill-suited to their purpose. In 
1S99 a start towards something better was made in 
the construction of the Central Grammar School 
adjoining the High School, while some of the older 
buildings were re-fitted, including the Warring School, 
purchased in 1002. In i<)Oi a new building was 
erected on Lincoln Avenue, and another in 1904 on 
Delafield Street. All these improvements were paid 
for outright by taxation, the citv having no power to 
borrow money. Meanwhile the increased efficiency 
is particularly to be noted in the increased atteiulance 
at tile High School, which during the pa.st few \ears 
has been prejiaring students for college. All the 
schools have recently been given names. 

Something of the history of each of the leading 
private schools has been given in former chapters, 
h'-astnian College has apparently done better than 
its fiiuiider anticipated. If Mr. Kastman had an abid- 
ing faith in the permanenc\ of his institution, it is 
singular that in tiie time of his j^rosperity he did not 
invest some of the earnings of the college in perma- 
nent and suitable buildings for its accommodation. 
The present building was erected in 1883, in the jiresi- 
dency of I'.zra White, who was succeeded a few \ears 
later by Clement C, Gaines, who had married Mr, 
h'astman's widow. Under Mr, Gaines's management 
the college has broadened its curriculum and has been 
ke]it fully abreast of the times. It has now the loya! 
sui)i)ort of a large body cif graduates, who have been 
successful in Inisiness. an<l Mr. Gaines keeps in close 
touch not onl\ with them, but with the re<|uirenients 
nt tile k'ading ci inmiercial inslituiions in tlu' countr\ . 
lie has also brought the college under the supervision 
"f tlie Regents of the State University, 

In 1883 occnrreil a imtable change in the school 
situation when Rev. D. (■. Wright (see ]i. K13) gave up 
the old I'l nii^hkeepsie l^'emale Academy. The ]iurchase 
I'f the liuilcling by the Woman's L'hristian 'i'em])erance 
I nil in has a'read\- been nn'iitioned. Dr. Wright st'rv- 
eil oiH' \ear as principal nf the Iligh .School. .Mean- 
while Samuel WelK I'.uek, whu hail lieen iirincipal of 
the High '^chnnl fur sexer.al \e,iis. had purchased 
what was originallx the roughkeepsie Female Col- 
legiate Institute, then known as Cook's Collegiate In- 
stitute, and changed its name ti 1 I.Midnn I I;ill. which 
it still retains. Miss .Marv C. Alli-er. wlm had been 
one of I'l". Wfight'-- teachers, purchased the (Juiiicy 
School, which had been st.arted in i88j b}' .Miss Caro- 
line Silloway, and these two remain. 

The Warring School building, before its ])urchase 
by the city, had imt been in usi' for .several 
\e;irs. Hr. Warring snld the I '1 mghkeepsic' .Military 
Inslilnte about 1871 to I leury Jewett, who conducted 




CI.IOIKXT CARKINCTOX GAIXKS. 

/'irsit/t'ii/ of Eastman College. 
(For l>ioi;rap/iiial skcltli sit .\ppcudix.) 



?56 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIB 



It liack to Dr. 
lircnu'iit. Ef- 
a schiiol there 
s for l)oys had 
tion of River- 




jnsi'.rii i;. i;isi;i-;i-;. 

view, and of thr iiii]in iviii^ puhhc scIkioIs. l\i\ir 
view, with its splendid e(|inpiiKnt. and eorps of teach 
er.s. continnes as jimsiKrous as ever. ( )tis P.i.s])cc died 
in i'\-hrnary. 1885, leaving tlie school to the manage- 
ment of his son. Jo.scph r.arllctt i'.ishee and Harlan 
I'a.i^e .\men. wlm kc|)t it fnlly up-to-date. .Mr. Amen 
made a specialty of ]ireparation fnr Cdllei^e. Init in 
1895 liecame princi|ial nf the famous I'liillips .\cadem\ 
at Kxcter. New 1 lami)shire, U-avini^ Riverview to the 
.soli' nianaj;ement nf .Mr. I'.isliee. wlm has conliinieil 
and imi)r(iV(.-d its hij^h standard. 

Ni:w I'.i'ii.ni.xcs .\.\ii I\k.\i, h*sT.\TE Extknsions. 
Great improvements have lieen made in the busi- 
ness streets. .\llhciui;h many hnildin^s remain on 
^[ain and Market Streets that were hnilt l)efore i'ough- 
keepsie became a city., so many morv ha\e been erected 
or rebuilt since the war. even since 187^^, that the ap- 
pearance of the .streets has been entirely chan,t;i'd. .\ 
glance at .some of the ])hotographs of street scenes 
l.iken not more tlian twenty-five years ago shows this 
plainly. Since the fire of December jGlh. 1870, very 



few buildings ha\e been burned on AFain Street, and 
changes have come slowly, but year by year the old 
gives place to the new. The Johnston building, west 
of the ]\Iorgan House, was finished in 1875, and the 
first store in it was opened in April of that year by Don- 
ald. Converse & Maynard, three young men who had 
C'lme from Hartford. Peter M. Howard's marble front 
building at 26^ Main Street was finished in the same 
year. This building was designed for a corner lot. 
and .Mr. 1 hnvard intended to put a street through from 
Ma'n Street to Mansion, to be continuous with Raiding 
.\venne. then recently ojiened. It would have been a 
niitalile impro\-ement. but Mr. Ihiward's nmney and 
heallh did not Imld dut. 

The I'dtiug building on the corner of I^iberty Street 
replaced in i8(j2 one of the old landmarks of earl\ 
(hns. Ion"- the store of Georrrc ^'an Klccck. 











///, /;/,i/c/ii/x vj l.iHluy, Ihitl ej Co. 

Finally, I.nckey. P'att &• Ci 1. made the gre;itest 
ch;mge and iniproN-i'UH'ui nf recent \e;irs wlu'ii in iijni 
they tol'e down the nld stores that had been .^.^i, _^3<S 
and 340 Main Street and erecteil a eum]ilete depart- 
ment stni'e building, designed for sales-nx)ms on all 
fnur llonrs. These, connected with 332 and 334. 
which had been ])arti;dly n-built in l8c)o. and with 342, 
formerly the 1 lerriek furniture store, now form one 
great establishnu-nt. 




Dr. CHARLES E. LANE, 
President of the Common Council. 




c.i'.oKCi-: \v. i.rMi!. 

/'rest icnl of thr Hoard of f'lihli, II orfs 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE 



259 



Market Street's business block has changed much 
more than Main Street ; in fact nearly all the west 
side is new. The old Forbus House was sold in \'<i- 
vemher, 1S74, to Judge Nelson, who purchased it for 
his sister, Mrs. E. P. Taylor. It was torn down the 
next year, except the three-story brick addition which 
was built .several years earlier, and forms the southern 
part of the present house. The new hotel, The Nelson 
House, was formally opened May 19th, iS/f), with a 
banquet at which Mayor Carpenter presided. Its first 
proprietor was I'eter Fnland, wlm came here from 
.Albany, and was succeeded aflc-r a short lime by Capt. 
A. F. Black. In 1885 the wlmlc ni\v (if ..Id bnildin-s 
between the Nelson House and L'niim Slrcel, inchidini;- 
the I lid r.aker < ir I'.ru^h Imusc. clatiiii^ back tu the da\s 
I if the l\e\iilutinii. was drslroyt'd In make wa\- for the 
new L'nited ^^tati's ( 'i( ivernmeiit I'.uildinL;-. These build- 
ings bad been i.;iven a m.nnsard roof after l8jo, and sn 
did not appear when loi'ii down as show 11 in the pic- 
ture on "page y(>. The new government building was 
ready for occu])anc\ by Xoveniber. 1886, wdien Post- 
master Robert 11. liimter mo\ed the Post Office there 
from the Cit\- llall. .\s alread\- shown, this was a re- 
turn of the office ti 1 the same location occupied from 
185 1 to 1865. The lower floor of the City Hall, then 
vacated, was rented by J. \\^ Hinkley. who jmblisbed 
his newspapers there until be finally settled on the 
corner of Cannon and Market Streets, and erected a 
new Iniikling there. 

In the same year that die "l,aw\ers' Row" was de- 
stroyed. 1S85, occurred another important change in 
the appearance of tjie neighborhood of Market and 
Main Streets. The Poughkeepsie Hotel verandas 
(see page i<;8). from which Henry Clay had spoken, 
were torn a\\a\. the first lloor lowei'ecl to side- 
walk level, and the building was partiallx' rebuilt, and 
consolidated with the Nelson House in management. 
The old hotel bad bt'en several times damaged bv fire. 
After J.ihn 11. Kutzer's' death in 1867, Richar.l I'. 
Morgan, who represented Mrs. Rutzer"s interest, be- 
came the proprietor, lie .dtered the building by tak- 
ing oft' the lower \eranda ;ibont 1S78. Then it was 
leased to Milton llain. with whom was associati'd his 
son. II. X. llain, for a term of six \cars. In the me.m- 
time Jud-e Xelson bought the hotel, and made the 
final alterations. Mr. Ikiin removi'd to the Xelson 
House in 1884. and before the consolidation Isaac X. 
Seaman ran the Pou,ghkeepsie for a time, and was its 
last actual proprietor. The Nelson House has since 



•Riitzer came liere from Kingston in 1841 and was for a 
short time [iroprietor of tlic Forl)ns House. He was prolia- 
lily tile most famous of old-time liotel men in I'oughkeeiisie. 



that time been greatly increased in size and improved 
in many ways. 

The climax of change in the neighborhood was the 
building of the new Court House in I(j02. Many peo- 
ple regretted the destruction of the old building, and 
thought that it should have been posl])oned until the 
city and county could join in the erection of a com- 
bined Court House and City Hall, to take the place of 
all the buildings bounded by ]\Iarket, .M.iin, \\',-ishing- 
ton and L'nion Streets. A new Court 1 louse, however, 
was one of the necessities of the near future, and the 
jail had been condemned as unfit for use. The archi- 
tect of the nvw Coiu't House was William J. I'.eards- 
le\-. au<l the building committee from the Hoard of Su- 
pervisors was .Miles K. Lewis, John W. Delamater. 
James II. Kipp. Reginald W. Rives and h'dswonh L. 
W in;uis. 

Power .Main Street has been considerablv changed 
during the jiast twenty years. The Ptiml) factory 
building, below Water Street, displaced an old house, 
(nee the residence of Thomas Vassar, and said to have 
been once the home of James \^assar. and the Levi 
Lumb building, east of the railroad station is part'y 
on the site of an old stone house th;it <lateil back to 
early days. In the other older streets there have lieen 
less changes, but Mill Street and Washington Street 
are not as they were. The sale of the Xorthern Hotel 
to Henr\- Webendorfer in 1889 was followed by a wid- 
ening of Washington Street from Mill Street a short 
distance north, cutting off a part of the bnildiuL^, which 
was then dismantled of its \er;uidas and left an un- 
sightly shell. In icjn:; the Congregationalists tore 
down the old Line house and built the present ]iarson- 
age, and a few years earlier the I'.aiiiists reliuilt their 
parsonage. Washington Street near Main is greath- 
changed in appearance b\- the erection, just comi)leted. 
of Columbus Institute for the Knights of Columbus. 
This building w ;is formal!\ opened May 22(1, 1905. 

Though the holding of lots for speculation has 
been unprofitable since 1873, with few exceptions, the 
settled area has continued to increase. The most not- 
al)!e change has been the opeuini; of the old Living- 
ston's Woods to settlement. Rev. I lem-\' .\. Loomis 
and some other people thought this delightful pii'ce of 
woodland, partly in the city limits, should be preserved 
as a i)ublic park, but the necessary funds were not 
forthconung. The property was purchased Julv isl, 
i8c)i. for $11,000, from William S. Johnston, trustee 
for the bondholders of the defunct Hudson River Iron 
Coni])any. by I'erdin.and R. Lain, who formed a syndi- 
cate which includeil William II. Young. H. N. Rain 
and Robert McCaffertv. C.raduallv the old time at- 



260 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 



tractivoncss of the iK'i.nhhurhood was destroyed, first 
by the digging out of the moulding sand which formed 
a large part of the soil, and finally by cutting down 
the trees. Streets were opened through it, and though 
not very many dwellings have yet been built there the 
ground has been so completely altered as to leave lit- 
tle indication of its former appearance. 

The property east of Clinton Street, opened be- 
tween 1869 and 1873, as described in the last chapter, 
has been steadily built upon and though considerable 
-sections of fields remain to be divided, it seems only a 
question of a few years when the city will extend to 
the grounds of Vassar College. The finest residence 
in this neighborhood is that of Frank B. Lown, erected 
on College .Avenue in 1901. On the north side of the 
city Balding Avenue and Marshall Street (named 
from James Marshall, but originally called West High 
Street) have been ahnost entirely built up since 1873. 
and several new streets, such as Bain .\venue and 
Taylor Avenue, have been opened and settled beyond 
the Bridge Railroad. In the northeastern section of 
the city a large tract, north of the Fall Kill and east 
of Smith Street has been opened to settlement by John 
R. Lent since 1873, and is now inostl)- covered with 
buildings. Winnikee .\\enue is on made land, once 
a part of the old Mill pond. 

P>etween 1880 and 1890 the movement for the re- 
moval of fences gathered headway and ])roduced so 
great a change in the appearance of many residence 
streets that photographs taken before 1880 are aliuost 
unrecognizable now, even where the buildings remain 
almost as they were. Every house, not actually on the 
sidewalk line, formerly had its fence in front. Now 
ver\- few fences remain except as dividing lines at the 
rear of lots. 

The most notable extension and improvement of 
the Jiast ten years has been ihe oiu-ning of the White- 
house property to settlement. .Mr. W'hilehouseV son- 
in-law, Kugene X. TTouell, iil.iniud there an extensive 
sulnu-ban i)ark setllemeiil. \i' rcsenilile sunie of the 
suburbs of rhiladel])hia. and began the construction 
of the Dwiglu Street houses in the winter of 1895-96. 
He eniijloyed Horace Trunibaner. of Philadelphia, as 
architect, and the houses erected were on lines different 
from anything yet built in I'oughkeepsie. Like many 
other enter])rising I'oughkeepsie boomers, Mr. How-ell 
lost bv his venture, though his collapse was caused 
more by unfortunate outside speculation than by this. 
The remaining lots were finally sold at auction, and 
much of the property came into possession of Smith 
L. DeGarnio. who has continued the development. 
Outside of the Whitehouse i^roperty almost all the 
houses on Hooker .Avenue, Forbus Street, \'irginia 



A\enut-. ll;uumersley .\ venue and many of those on 
.Vcademy, Hamilton and other neighboring streets have 
been built since 1880. The houses of W. .\. .Vdriance 
and I. R. .\driance on .\cademy Street were l)uilt in 
1893 and i8()4. 

The FiKK Dki'aktmEixt .•xnd the Milit.-\rv. 

.\fter the installation of the new water supply with 
its high pressure, the necessity for fire engines was 
much diminished. The purchase of steamers for No. 
4 an<I No. 2 had caused No. 5 Engine Company to dis- 
liand in 1863 and reorganize as Lady Washington 
Hose Company No. 3. Old Protection No. i was dis- 
banded in 1871, and in 1881 Young .\merica No. 6 
Engine Co. was reorganized as Young .America Hose 
Co. No. 6. This company owes its name to the fact 
that originally its membership was limited to native 
-\mericans. Within the past ten years new houses have 
l)een built for all the companies except Lady Washing- 
ton, though the houses of Niagara Steamer Company 
and of Bootli Hose arc only partially new. Cataract's 
new house was built in i8()7-8, Davy Crockett's in 
1898-1;. Yomig -America's in npo-oi. and Phoenix 
Hose Companx 's in hjol. The last nientiimed sui)t'r- 
seded the venerable old building at rninn and 
Washington Streets, where the City Library and the 
hook and ladder companv were once located. (See 
p. 130). No. 4's new house is the only one in an en- 
tirely new location. The old house at 100 .Main Street 
was sold and tlu' new house was built on a jiari of tlu' 
lot corner of .Mill and 1 )elafield Streets. occui)ied in old 
times by the Coflin foundry, and later b\ a jilow fac- 
tor\ alreadx- mentioned. The ni'w location, however, 
is within a stone's throw of the place where the com- 
panv was first organized in 183'). 

.\ vohinie could be written about the old da\ s of 
the tire clejiartnunt, and ni;in\ interesting i\ents wiuild 
fall within the present ]ieriod. There were tourna- 
ments in 1873. 1S73 and 181)0. with trials of engines, 
foot races and great |)arades, and nian\' minor events, 
such as excursions, receiilions to visiting firemen and 
celebrations. The 50th amiiversaries of the organiza- 
tion of PliiKuix Hose (."onipany, 181)4. ^n"' "f P>ooth 
Hose Conip,-my, 1003, were duly observed, and among 
the excursions |inibably the most notable was that of 
Davy Crockett llo.ik .ind Ladder C'onipany to .\tlanla, 
Georgia, in i8()i. Parades are still fre(|uent and form 
an important feature in the life of the cit\. bm tluv 
are no longer considered important enough to reqinre 
special apparatus, and ;ire not (|uite wdiat they used to 
be before the advent of horses. The first horse per- 
manently established in the fire department was pre- 
sented to Phoenix Hose Company by William H. 




GEORGE NAGENGAST. 
Chief Engiiwer of the Fire Depurtmeiit. 
(For hioi^rap/iiial s/cctc/i see Appendix. ) 



262 



HISTORY OP P U G II K P. E P S I E 




1)K. II, I-. 

(For hio.^raphhd/ sk, 

Frank in iSiji, when a fhit\- carriage of the present 
tvpe was pnreliaseil. Since ihen tlu' nld linse reels 
and tile parade earriai^cs have disa|ipeared, and mod- 
ern apparalns drawn 1)\ Imrses ha\e heen installed in 
all the tire Imnses. Tin- handsimie jiarade carriag'c of 
I'hoenix Ilose Ccmipany was pnt in a ,!j,iass case, as an 
interestins; relic nf the past, in |i|i)l. 

The fire ciini])anies nn Innner fear the "cnrporalion 
lock," whic-h in njd times sn often hroni^ht an ahrnpt 
end to rowd\ism and c;msed n-ori;;iniz,ition. With 
iheii^ h.andsomely fnrnished honses they are in reality 
verv pleasant clnhs and an important feature in the so- 
cial life of the city, but each has its nucleus of enthusi- 
astic fire fi<,diters and kee])s in touch with the most ap- 
proved methods. The present orsjanization and dis- 
cipline are larjjely credited to Frederick liieher and his 
successor, the present chief (.•nLjini'er. deorti^e Nagen- 
g'ast. Mr. Richer hail heen ,i nunilier of the \e\v 
York department, ,-uid liroULjht tlu' home companies to 
an efficiency, which, nieastu'cd by results, certainly 
coni]iares favorably with the paid de])artments of many 
cities. Here only the drivers are paid. Tlu- city h.as 
long enjoyed immunil\- from serious fires. Tlu' burn 
in.fj of the Wliitehouse factory in i87<;, caused b)- light- 
ning, the glass works fire in 1897, the James Reynolds 
Elevator fire and the Gas Works ex])losion and fire in 
December, 1898, were the most notable. 



CI.ARK, 
ii/i srr .Ipprmlix.) 

'J'he \ eteran I'ireman's .\ssociation was organized 
Xov. lodi. iSSd. with ( )liver II. I'.ooth as its first 
president. Tlu' association owns the old "Goose- 
Xeck" engine, formerh used bv .\o. 4 and \o. Ci, a 
valued possession, presented b\ W'ni. F, liooth after 
the death of his father in iSi)f>. 

Greater changes \va\v been made in the local luili- 
tary organizations than in the fire dep.artment of tlie 
cit\. In the clays of general training .-it least two regi- 
nu'nts seem to ha\e met here. ;ind a jjuiI Regiment is 
mt-ntioned occasionall) e\(.'n after the war. tliougli 
api)arently onl\- a skeleton organization. The 2lst 
Kegiment had no regimental armory until it took pos- 
session in iS(i5 n[ the old carriage factory, so often 
referred to in t'li.iptc'i' 1\ .as "the armor\' liuilding." 
r.el"ore th.at was t.aken the com|)anies were scattered. 
Some of them had i|u;irters in the Wright I'.uilding, 
wlurt- the |)rest'nt ^'o^mg Women's C'hristi.an .Associa- 
tion rooms ;ire located, and others were in the lower 
Kirchner building. After the w;ir Golouel James 
Snnlh. broilier of Messrs. W . W. and .\ndrew Smith, 
w.as in command, with 1 )r. II. 1'". (."I.'irk ;is IJentenant 
Colonel, to iS-S. Then Colonel Alfred \\ Findley 
lodk comm,-md. When the new Kirchnei' Ir-ililing wns 
built the nppi'r lloors became the .armory .and so re- 
mained until the regiment was disbanded. \]iril dlh. 
i88j. Two companies. D and A, were retained as the 



HISTORY OF P U G H K E B P S I n 



2«a 



lOth and 15th Separate Companies. The lyth, com- 
manded l)y Ca])tain William Maubennestel, traced its 
history back to nne of the early village militia com- 
panies once commanded liy Matthew N'assar. The 
I5tli. ct)mmanded by Cajit. 11. F. Meyer, was origi- 
nally the Elsworth Grays of war times. Jn 1891 a 
new armory was built b\' the State with am])le ac- 
commodations for both companies, but in 18(^7, in ac- 
cordance with a policy of still furtiier reducing the 
National Guard, the Hjtli was disbanded, and the 13th 
alone remains. 

( )ne of the notable celebrations in which the mili- 
tary companies of Poughkeepsie and of neighboring 
cities took part was the Centennial of the ratification of 
the Constitution of the United States, July 26, 1S88. 

In the spring of 1808 the 15th, then commanded 
by Captain ji'hn K. Sague. voluntei-red for the Span- 
ish War, and became Company K of the First New 
York \ (ilunteers. It was sent to the Hawaiian Islands, 
and returned to Poughkeepsie December 27th, 1899. 
During its absence a temporary company, known as the 
115th, was organized under command of Captain F. 
P.. Warring. The 19th Separate Company still keeps 
its organization as an independent association, and the 
19th Separate Company Drum Corps is an important 
feature of all parades. 

Soci.M, LiFi-;, Clubs, Fr.\teknitiks, D/rc. 

This has been a period of organization, and the 
number of fraternities and societies has increased 
greatly. In 1879 ^ second Masonic Lodge, Triune, 
was organized with William Morgan Lee as the first 
Master. The other charter members were < )liver .S. 
Atkins, William Atkinson, Frank E. Pasley, Henry 
Hasbrouck, William B. Hull, Charles D. Johnson, 
Charles C. More, Casper L. Odell, Samuel K, Rup- 
ley, Peter L. ^'an Wagenen, Jere 1). Wright and Ilenr)- 
L. Ziegenfuss. The first two candidates raised in the 
lodge were John G. Collingwood and J. .\rthur Lock- 
wood. 

In i8()4 the two Masonic lodges united in the pur- 
chase of the old Cannon Street Methodist Church 
(See ]). 14(1 ) which they rebuilt with an extension 
in front to make the present Masonic Temple. Be- 
sides the large temple above, the old Sunday School 
room, on the ground floor, was converted into a hall 
which has become the favorite place for small dancing 
assemblies and other social gatherings too large for 
private houses. Masonic Hall was dedicated on Wash- 
ington's Birthday, in 1895. 

Poughkeepsie Lodge No. 21, Independent Order of 
( )dd Fellows, which had been meeting over the Eagle 
office in Liberty Street, since the building was finished 



in 1868, w;is incorpi iratil 1>\- ;ict of the Legislature in 
1869, with I'. S. Rowland, A. G. Rothery and F. J. 
Nesbitt as trustees empowireil to hold property for il. 
In 1885 it bought tin- Imilding 2(11 ami 263 Main 
Street, and moved into it in 1898. Fallkill Lodge, No. 
291, was organized December isi, 1871. with Stephen 
Schofield, Lawrence W. I )ntcher, .\ugustus \'an 
Sicklen, John 11. Caldwrll and (leroge W. I layer as its 
fir.st officers. .\ thir.l lodge of ( )(ld Fellows, known 
as Adler Lodge \o. 388, has since been organized. 
The Knights of Pythias also have three lodges — 
I'oughkeepsie No. 43, .Vrmour 107. and 'I'riumph 165. 

The Knights of Columbus, one of the newest fra- 
ternities in Poughkeepsie, and one of the strongest, has 
just erected a handsome building on Washington 
Street on the site of the old Lewis (afterwards Mc- 
Curdyj stables, next to the Young Men's Christian 
-Association. The order was instituted February 6th, 
1S178, with the following officers: Grand Knight, 
John J. .Mylod : De;)Uty Grand Knight, John F. Ring- 
wood; Financial .Secretary, John II. Cusack ; Record- 
ing Secretary, John T. Xevins ; Chancellor, P. C. 
Dohertx' : A(l\-ocate, Joseph ,\. Daughion ; Lecturer, 
James A. Kerr: Warden. Thomas J. Wai"il : Inside 
Guard, Thomas A. Towers ; ( lutside Guanl, R. J. 
McGee: Trustees. Dr. John A. Cotter, William R. Ala- 
loney, R. J. McGee, Jr.. Charles T. Hughes. 

All the present out-of-(l(jor clubs w'cre organized 
since 1873. though some were reorganizations from 
older clubs. The Shatemuc Boat Club was primarily 
a racing organization, rather exclusive in membership 
and in time most of the members lost interest. Finally 
in i87<) Tristram Coffin, .Aaron Innis, Floy M. Johns- 
ton and \\'illiam C. Hill alone remained. They took 
the pro]>erty and turned it over to James Reynolds 
{3d), who represented a set of younger nn-n, who were 
organizing the ".\])okee|ising Boat Chili." the first of- 
ficers of which, elected in Sei)temher, were Frank Has- 
brouck, president: J. I'".. Ailriance, vice-president; J. 
Re\no!ds. secretary; Thomas H. Ransom, treasurer; 
Norman Wright, captain ; C. W. Swift, Jr., lieutenant. 
This club was not fnllv organized until the next 
spring, when in addition to the officers already men- 
tioned Peter Hulme, Frank W. Ilalstead, Emmet A. 
Wilber, John G. Slee, Alonzo H. \'ail, John G. Col- 
lingwood and William R. Innis were elected to the 
board of directors. This club has had but tw'o presi- 
dents, Charles F. Cossum succeeding Mr. Hasbrouck 
in 1896. Messrs. Wright and Reynolds were its lead- 
ing oarsmen, and frequently entered and won races on 
the Harlem and elsewhere as single scullers. At pres- 
ent interest in racing is not strong, but the club ow'ns 
many pleasure boats and has a large membership. 



■2>H 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIB 



The Poiighkeepsie Yacht Ckib was organized in 
September, 1892, at a meeting held on hoard the yacht 
ISeatrice. It has a chib house, and storage place for 
sail boats, launches, etc.. on the site of the old Revo- 
lutionary Ship Yard on the South Side, and in the 
coves near-by are anchored most of the sail boats, 
yachts, steam and motor launches owned in Pough- 
keepsie. Messrs. W. H. and \'alentine Frank have 
been among its leading supporters. The first officers 
were Powell Hobert, commodore ; William Hartman, 
vice-commodore ; R. W. Haupt. recording secretary : 
Edward Laufersweiler, financial secretary ; William 
Furman, treasurer ; John Haubennestel, measurer. 

The interest in rowing fostered by these organiza- 
tions led to the negotiations which secured the first 
race of the university eights, representing Columbia, 
Cornell and Pennsylvania, June 24th, 1895, on the 
Poughkeepsie course. Sufficient money to build boat 
houses, make necessary arrangements for crew quar- 
ters, for surveying and marking the course, etc., was 
raised by subscription through the efforts of the follow- 
ing finance committee : William Schickle, representing 
the Board of Trade ; A. C). Cheney, Retail Merchants' 
Association ; James Reynolds, Apokeepsing Boat Club ; 
Grant Van Etten, Poughkeepsie Yacht Club. There 
was also an executive committee, of which William F. 
]>ooth was chairman, Harris S. Reynolds secretary, 
and William H. Frank treasurer. Since 1895, with 
the exception of 1898, the college regatta has been a 
most important event of early summer, bringing great 
crowds of visitors to Poughkeepsie. Harvard joined 
in the regatta for two years, in 1896 and 1897, and 
^■ale in 1X97. In 1899 the University of Wisconsin 
first entered a crew, and in 1900 Ceorgetown I'ni- 
versity was added. S>racuse sent her first crew in 
1 90 1 . 

Recently si)orts of all kinds have formed organiza- 
tions. The first lawn tiuiiis playing in Poughkeepsie 
was in Eastman Park, wlun an organization known 
as the Out-Door Clul> was started, somewhere about 
1879 or 1880. This club introduced archery also 
among its pastimes. The Poughkeepsie Tennis Club 
was organized in April, 1890, by consolidating two 
smaller clubs, one of which had its courts on the corner 
of Market and Alontgomery Streets, where the Jones 
block stands. John C. Sickley was the first president. 
The club's courts were at first in the rear of Eastman 
Terrace, and were moved to South Hamilton Street, 
corner of Dwight, on the invitation of E. N. Howell. 
The first club house stood on a knoll surrounded by 
cedar trees on the corner of Dwight Street. It was 
burned in 1893, and the hill was afterwards entirely 
cut away. The club then purchased its present prop- 



ert\' on the opposite side of Hamilton Street, and erect- 
ed the present club house, largely through the eft'orts 
of Robert M. Frrris. 

The Dutchess Count}- Golf Club was organized in 
.\pril, i8i)7, and the first board of directors was Wil- 
liam A. Adriance, John E. Adriance, Robert M. Fer- 
ris, Hiram S. Wiltsie, William H. Young and Dr. W. G. 
Dobson. In 1901 it was incorporated as The Dutchess 
County Golf and Country Club, when George CoUing- 
wood, Fred R. Newbold, John W. Pelton, George Sea- 
man and Alonzo H. Vail came on the board. John E. 
Adriance has been president of the club since its or- 
ganization. The club house was built in 1902. 

Several social clubs important enough to maintain 
club houses have been organized in recent times. The 
Anu-ita Club has generally been conceded to be the 
leading club, Init it conducts no restaurant, and in 
1888 it was found that there was room for a club man- 
aged more on the lines of clubs of other cities, and 
the Dutchess Club was formed, at first as a Democratic 
Club, lis first president was Judge Homer .\. Xelson, 
who served until his death, when he was succeeded by 
James P. Williams, still in office. This club numbers 
among its members most of the leading politicians and 
public men of both parties, and occasionally entertains 
prominint men from abroad. The name "Dutchess 
Club" had been used as early as 1828 by a social organ- 
ization, of which Alexander Forbus was secretary. 

During the rise of the bicycle into popularity two 
or three liicycle elulis were formed, the first of which 
was called the Ariel Wheel Club. The Poughkeepsie 
liicycle Club occupied the handsome Thomas P. Davies 
oi' I'.. I'lall Cari)eiUer house on Mansion S(|uare for 
a frw years, and linn became chielK a social club 
It iN the only one that survivt's and is now tin- Pough- 
keepsie Club. In 1903 its preseul club housi' on Mar- 
ket Street was leased and fitted up. 

Tlu' Cenliir\ Cycle Club occupied a large house 
ou Washington Street for a few years, but did not 
long siir\ivi' the decline of the bicycle craze. 

The Dutchess County Horticultural Society is ]M"ac- 
iicall\ a Poughkeepsie institution, though containing 
ni;my members from adjoining sections of the county, 
interested in tin- ))rolital)k' induslr) of growing violets 
and other llowcis for tlu' X\\\ ^'ork market. It con- 
ducts every _\ear laic in the f.'ill .-i uot.'ibU- (lower show, 
largely devoted to clirys;iuthenuinis, and also holds an 
annual banquet, the first of which was at the Morgan 
House, January 8th. 1896. There was a Poughkeep- 
sie Horticultural Society as long ago as i860, of which 
the ])resent organization is perhaps an outgrowth. The 
New I'jigland Society, organized by Rev. William 
Herman Hopkins, recently pastor of the Congrega- 




FRA^'CIS G, LANDOX. 

Mevibcr of Assembly, igoi — igoj. 

(See Appendix.) 



2GG 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 



tional Church, also holds an annual banquet, with nuich 
oratory — on Forefathers" Day in December. 

Tlu- leailinj; patriotic organization in Poughkeepsie 
is the Alaluvenawasig Chapter, Daughters of the 
American l\e\( ilutinn. cliartereil in April, 1894, with 
twehe nieinbcrs, .Mrs. IvKvanl S. .Vtwater, Mrs. Frank 
llashnniok. .Mrs. .Martin Heermance, Miss Myra 
.\vcr\. .Mrs. 1). Crosby Foster. Mrs. Horace D. Huf- 
cut. .Mr.-. .Milton .\. I'owk-r, Mrs, William A. Miles, 
:\liss Helen W. Reynolds, .Mrs. Robert Sanford. Mrs. 
j. S!)encer \an Cleef, Miss Mary X'arick. In iSijJ 
the Ivveritt house (sec page 47) was purchased from 
Charles Kirchner, for the chajjter, In- Mrs. Atwater, 
win I was the first regent. Mr. Tristram Coffin and Mr. 
b'rank \'an Kleeck. Finding considerable difficulty 
in raising the necessary money, an an.xiliary committee 
of citizens was organized in 1899 to hold the property, 
and in 1900 the State apiiropriated $5,000 for its pur- 
ch;ise. largely through the inlluence of Miss .\very, 
then regent, and placed it in the care of the society, 
thus presirving the only remaining building of Revo- 
lutinnarx ;issi iciations in I'oughkeepsie. The use of 
the hiiuse in tlu' Re\iilutinn has been fully discussed 
in Chapter 111. In 11)04 the D. .\. R. rendered a still 
fiu-ilur service to local history by the erection of a 
tablet on the east side of the new court house com- 
nieniorating the constitutional cum entiim of l/cSS. 

The musical organizations of I'oughkeepsie de- 
ser\e nntice, for despite the occasional failure of high 
class musical \-entures. the city has always been ready 
to welcome good nnisic. Choral societies were organ- 
ized here as earl\- as i8_^8. ( )ratorios were sung by 
some of them certainlv before iSCio. .\ considerable 
ini])etns was given to nnisieal appreciation by the com- 
ing of the Germans, and tin- C.ermania Singing Society 
was organized in 1850, with .\. Kiihn, T^ liantle. P. 
Meinecke, T\ Kicssler. Charles Peters. P. Schlosser. 
C. Ranch. P. 1 lasselberg. A. PIricli. P. /iunnt-r. F. 
('.rinding, ( )tto Rohr ;md Jiise|)b ILaner as charter 
members. .March Jd. 1851, a euiuerl w.-is L;iven ;it the 
Presb_\-terian Church by "The I 'dughkeepsie Pnion 
Musical .Vssociation,'" assisted b\ "an orchestra of the 
best instrumental talent of the \illage, under the direc- 
tion of the Mi-ssrs. C.rnbe." This orchestra is s;iid 
to lia\e betn called at one tiuu- "The Concordia." 
Charles Cirube. who celebrated his 91st birthday, April 
I2l]i, 1905, was the leader of Gcrmania in 1851. 

The Mendelssohn Society was pcrliaps the greatest 
singing society ever organized in Poughkeepsie, and 
was sui)i)ortetl with a great deal of enthusiasm by all 
the leading music lovers for more than ten years. It 
was started in 1866 with Charles Martin as its leader, s 
and gave concerts every year in the Opera House. 



Walter D. Gilbert and M. S. Downs were its later 
leaders. In May, 1876, this society sang the oratorio 
of Elijah under Mr. Downs's leadership, with Theo- 
dore Thomas's Orchestra accompanying. The soloists 
were Fannie S. ]\Iyers, l^oughkeepsie, soprano : .Ade- 
laide Phillips, New York, contralto; John D. .Ahreet, 
Poughkeepsie, tenor ; Myron Whitney, New York, 
bass. Somewhere about 1880 the Mendelssohn So- 
ciety disbanded and in 1881 The Poughkeepsie Vocal 
I'nion was organized on the same lines, with Pro- 
fessor I'Vederick Louis Ritter of the then \'assar 
School of Music, as leader. This society sang 
lla\iln's Creation at its first concert, November 
5th, 1881. Its officers then \vere Willard H. Crosby. 
l)resi(lent; Edward W\ \'alentine, vice-president; By- 
ron M. Marble, secretary; Charles .\. P>rooks, treas- 
urer. 

The \'ocal I'nion disbanded after the season of 
1883-84. and in 1885 some of the young men who had 
been among its members organized The Euterpe Glee 
Club, with Charles H. Plickok leader and Robert E. 
Taylor i)resiilent. This society gave a concert in the 
( )pera House in 1887. but generally gave its earp- 
concerts in \ assar Ijrothcrs Institute. In 1890 T. J. 
Mac])herson was the leader, but during an interval of 
absence from the city Edwarcl W. \'alentine led the 
clul). Clarence J. Reynolds has been one of the club's 
leading supporters from its organization. 

v^ince the organization of the Euterpe Club no large 
mixed choral society has been maintained except for a 
season or two, and in 1891 the women organized The 
Rubinstein Club, with W. R. Chapntan, of New York, 
as leader. The sociel\ was reorganized as The Chorai 
Club in the fall of i8i;i). and came under the leadershi]) 
of Professeir George C. Gow, of X'assar College. 

CoXCLUSlON. 

In the ])receding pages an eflfort has been made to 
sliiiw the prtjgress antl development of Pou.ghkeepsie 
from its earliest settlement to the i)ri'sent ; to give 
some account of the ])art its citizens ha\e taken in all 
of the great National ])olitical niowments. as well as 
in the soliUion of \arious local problems: and to show 
the ln-L;innings and something of the jirogress of all 
imporl.mt local enterprises and instiliUious. 'i'he ri'- 
stihs of all these things make up the Poughkeepsie of 
to-da\. with its e<|uipment of stri'ets ;md buildings and 
po])tilation. We h;i\i' seen something of the little 
colonial eonnt\ seat, slowly emerging from the woods, 
,ind of till' busy town of Revolutionary days S])ringing 
into sudden notoriety as the capital of the State. We 
have learned sometlTing of the great men who met here 
to debate and decide the question of the ratification of 



HISTORY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 



2()< 



the Constitution, and something of the beginnings of 
local development preceding the incorporation of the 
village. 

About one hundred years agn we found the 
little village on the hill growing niori- compact, be- 
coming an important market town and developing a 
tliriving river trade. The central streets were then all 
in existence and named as at present. Following nut 
long after the War iif i8ij we fdund a period of 
rapid growth, culminating in a few \c'ars nf extraordi- 
nary enterprise, when great men made and carried out 
most important plans for the u;)building of the city. 
With a population of little more than 6,000 these men 
majiped out the Poughkeepsie of to-day, and deter- 
mined in large measure the direction of its development. 
Many of the industries founded liy them with so nnieli 
liojjefulness failed, but others ha\e continued to aiM 
to the prosperity of the place, and the schools of that 
period long made Poughkeejjsie famous. ;uid gavt- it 
a rejjutation which had much to do with bringing more 
schools, even Vassar College itself. 

After the panic of 1837 and the downfall of the 
Improvement Party-, we .saw citizens of Poughkeep- 
sie taking the initial steps which led to the l)uild- 
ing of the 1 ludson River Railroad, and the steaih- pro- 
gress of the t(]wn until it sought iucor])oration as a 
cit\-. We liaVe traced the beginnings of cit\ gowrn- 
ment. and the de\elopment of man\ institutions that 
ha\(,' remained. Tiien we have read soniethins; of the 



excitements of the great war for the preservation of 
the I'nion ; then something of the second boom period, 
cidminating in the panic of 1S73. ;i ])eriod which start- 
ed the great I 'ouglikee])sie I'.ridge. and finally some- 
thing of recent changes and of the period of slow 1)ut 
fairly steady progress to the present time. 

Pf)uglikeepsie is not so \ery different from many 
other Eastern cities, but nevertheless has its eharacli-r- 
istics. It has been a town of slow growth. ;ind retains 
many of its earl\ buildings, though the improvements 
of the ^o's destro\ed most of those of coloinal origin. 
It has ne\er euL'irged its In anidaiies, which i-em.-iin 
the same as those given at its incor]ior;ition as a \ill;igt' 
in 171)1). bin thi' four sipiare n)iles are pretl\ c'oseK 
built up. and the ;ii-e,-i of in)provement is gi-;iduall\ 
spreading beyond. Its |ieo]ile in the past ha\i- Ih'cu In 
turns over-conservative and then o\er-i-niii-;irising. 
but the periods of conservatisn) and of enterpi-ise h.ave 
coincided with X;itional conditions. .\s a result of the 
forces of the p.'ist roughkee])sie is partly a mannfac- 
tm-ing town. ])artl\ a trading town drawing upon a 
producti\-e tei'i-itoi-y, i)artly a college town, partly a 
residence town — the home of man\- iiersons in com- 
fortable retirement from the cares of business — partly 
a railroad town, and partly a ri\er town. Within easy 
reach of the n)etro])olis. it stands ajiart with an inde- 
]K"ndence of its own. Its loyal citizens think it tlu' best 
place in the L'nited States in wiiich to live. 



EnaUi ami . Iddrnda -,cill be found at the end of the . If'f'endix, 



APPENDIX 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND OTHER SKETCHES. 



AKRANCiED ALPHAHETICALLY. 



Wll.lJA.M SAML'EL ACKERT, M. D. 

William Samuel Ackert. M. D., who in Decem- 
l)iT. ii)00. succeeded to the practice of Dr. F. T. Lape, 
and has since then materiall\- increased and added 
tlu-retu. was horn at Rhineheck, X. Y., December i8, 
I.S')3. After a primary education in the public schools 
he took the full course at the DeGarmo Institute in 
Rhineheck. graduatiuij therefrom in 1888. He then 
attended the Albany Medical College, and after gradu- 
ating from that institution in .\])ril, 1891, served as 
interne on tlie staff of the Albany City Hospital for 
eighteen months. In December. 1892. he located at 
Rensselaer, \. V., and practiced medicine there until 
late in the fall of IQOO, when, desiring a larger held 
in which to i^rosecute his life work, he purchased the 
|)ractice of Dr. La]x\ and now ranks among the most 
successful and l;est reputed ])hysicians and surgeons in 
I'oughkeepsie. I'olitically Dr. .Ackert is classed as a 
Democrat, but he has ever held himself independent 
to act and vote as seemed to himself to conduce toward 
better government regardless of political party ties. 
I le has never held and never sought office, devoting 
liis time and energies to the i)ractice of his profession. 
In social life he is more active, being a member of 
Creenbush Lodge, No. 3,^7, !■'. and A. M.,: Poughkee])- 
sie Chapter. Xo. 172, R. A. .M . ; tin- l'"irst Presbyterian 
Church, and the Dutchess Count\ Meilical Society. Dr. 
.\ckert married, Xovemlx'r y). iS(|j, Miss Margaret, 
daugliter (if Kdwin Parker, "of Albany, X. A'. They 
liave two children living. Rulli S., born in ( )cl(iber, 
|S(/). and Ivlwin \'.. liorn in April, i'}'\V Ethel, the 
first child burn in 181)3, iH'iiig di'ceased. 

CHARLES X. ARXOLD. 
(See portrait, page 243.) 
David and I'.enjainin Aninld. Rhode Island Quak- 
ers, came to l'oughkeei)sie aI)out the year 1810, to es- 
tablish the business of cotton manufacturing on the 
1 hidson River. They were ])ioneers in that business 
in this region, for it was not until i8or) that Samuel 
Slater, in connection with Messrs. .\lmy and llrown, 
of Providence, I\. 1., bail made ]iossible for the first 
time in America the manufactun' of cotton cloth by 
the connection of the jjower loom with llu' s])inning 
jenny. The brothers liiiilt a stone faclor\- on P.ayeau.x 
Street, in the then small village of Poughkeejisie, near 
the Fallkill. a buililing whicli is sliil standing in good 
l)reservation. ;incl has bei'ii used as .a chair f.actory until 



within a few \ears, but is now converted into a barn 
and stable, and is no longer recognized as an historic 
relic of our early industries. The machinery for cot- 
ton manufacture was brought overland from Hartford, 
Conn., and the War of 1812 having put an embargo on 
all .American coasting trade, the raw cotton had to be 
brought on wagons overland from Georgia, making it 
cost 60c. per pound delivered in Poughkeepsie. Im- 
portation of foreign goods was also prevented by the 
war, and there was such a demand for goods of domes- 
tic manufacture that the business was very prosperous, 
l)Ul in 1814 the war ended, and the treatv of peace in 
1815 o|)ened our jiorts to such a flood of foreign made 
goods that an end came suddenly to Amercian pros- 
perity, and the infant industry went down in disastrous 
failure, Da\i<l, the elder brother, embarked, about 
the year i8j_'. in tlu- lumber business at the LJp]>er 
Landing, and during the more than eighty years that 
have ela|)sed since that time the business has been con- 
tinued by members of his familv without interruption. 
The firm has consisted besides the founder, David .\r- 
nold, of his eldest son, Xathan Arnold, who died in 
1839, his son William C. Arnold, who died in i8()6, 
Sylvester .Andrus, who was with the hnn eitlu'r as 
clerk or ])artner from 1840 to about i8(|8, and C'h.iiies 
X. .Arnold, the grandson of D;i\id. ;ind ])reseiil pro- 
prietor and owner of the business. 

Great cJianges have taken ])lace in the forest re- 
sources of .America during these eighty years, vast 
art'as of our country have been denuded of the mag- 
nifici'iit |)ines, spruces, oaks, walnuts and other valu- 
able woods with which the l;ind was blessed before 
the w;ints of an industrious and r,i])idly increasing i)op- 
ulation caused their rapid deforestatif)n. The first 
stock of lumber for the modest little business was pro- 
cured from the Catskill regions, and later from the 
countr\- between Albany .-ind L;ike George, and u|) to 
1850 the lower lii-r of counties of Xew York State 
and the northern tier of Pennsylvania furnislied the 
finest white pine lumber in the world, for the world 
has never seen a finer wood for all commercial pur- 
poses than while iiine, but the days of tliis valuable 
wood are numbered, the virgin forests have nearly dis- 
a]i]ieared from the I'nitcd States, and the other great 
forests of Soutiiern jMue, spruce, hemlock, cypress, red 
and white cedar, po])lar and the invalu;ible hardwoods 
are being rajjidly converted into lunibrr or paper for 
CI mimercial purposes. 

Charles X. Arnold w;is born in l'ougIikee|isie June 



B I O G R A P II I C.I L APPBX DI X. 



•271 



8th, 1838. He attended the Dutchess County Academy 
until his sixteenth year, when he became a bookkeeper 
in the office of his grandfather and uncle, and has been 
identified with the business about fifty years. Long 
familiarit}- with the freshly sawn lumber has made the 
]X'rfunie of the ])ine and cedar and oak as delightful to 
him as tiiat of the flowers in his garden, and his attach- 
ment to his business has grown with his years. It has 
been his fortune to witness the growth of this beautiful 
city from a country village, and to have been somewhat 
identified with a part of its history and of the material 
out of which it has grown ; and to have had familiar 
and agreeable acquaintance with the architects and ar- 
tisans who have been instrumental in constructing the 
houses and public buildings whicli make the city. 
He served as Supervisor and School Comissioner for 
years and in the fall of 1894 was elected Mayor. 

Mr. Arnold was married October 12, 1869, to Miss 
Caroline Sherman, and they have two children, Fred- 
erick Sherman and Katherine Innis .Vrnnld. 



HON. SEWARD P.ARCULO. 
(See portrait p. 132.) 
Hon. Seward Barculo, eminent jurist and Imrticid- 
turist of this county, was born at Hopewell, Septeml)er 
22. 1808, and died in New York citv while on his re- 
turn trip home from Europe, June 20, 1854. .\lthough 
less than fifty years of age. Judge liarcu'.o left an im- 
perishable impression on both legal and social life. 
Educated first by his uncle Jacobus Swartwout, then at 
the .Academy at Fishkill, he prepared for college at 
Cornwall, Conn., spent two years at Yale and gradu- 
ated from Rutgers College. 1 le then studied law with 
Steplien Cleveland, was admitted to the liar in 1834, 
became a partner of Mr. Cleveland and then practiced 
alone. He was appointed County Judge by Governor 
White, April, 1843, at the unanimous request of the 
Dutchess County bar. In 1846 he was raised to Cir- 
cuit Judge, and in 1847 was elected one of the judges 
of the Supreme Court for the long term — the youngest 
man ever on this bench, but still looked back to and 
quoted as one of its greatest judicial minds. The in- 
scription on his tomb, in the cemetery he had founded, 
and in which he became one of its first occu])ants. 
aptly and furcibly expresses the true record of his life: 

"In society an ornament ; 

In tlie State a judge fearless, dignified and incorruptible; 

In habit simple and pure. 

He died ymuig but mature in usefulness and fame. 

.\dorning jurisprudence by the clearness of his decisions, 

.'\nd illustrating religion by the strength of his faith." 

Judge Barculo was an ardent liDrticulturist, his 
strawberries, peaches, pears and gra])es becoming 
widely celebrated. He was also an eminent writer on 
fruit culture. Passionately fond of the water, he went 
to Europe several times, and sailed his own pleasure 
boat on the local waters. He was married Alay 12. 
1834, to Miss Cornelia, daughter of John II. and Sarah 
( Somerindyke) Talman, of New York City. Mrs. 
Caroline T. Wheaton, who married Judge Charles 
Wheaton. of Poughkeepsie, is the onl\ (Uie of Jiulgo 
I'arculo's children now living. 



HON. JOSEPH F. P..\RN.\RD. 

(See portrait, page 189.) 

lliin. Joseph Folger ISarnard. for thirty-six years 
Justice of the Supreme Court of New York, was ijorn 
ill Poughkeepsie on September 18th, 1823. He was 
the son of Captain Frederic and Margaret (.\llen) 
liarnard, who came here from Nantucket in 181 8, and 
descendant of Thomas Barnard, who came from Eng- 
land with the King's Patent in 1659 and settled in 
Nantucket. Judge Barnard was educated in the pub- 
lic schools, private academy in Poughkeepsie and Yale 
College, graduating from the latter institution in 1841 
with the degree of Bachelor of .\rts. The honcjrary 
degree of LL.D. was conferred upon him in 1894 as a 
reward for his eminent services to the legal profes- 
sion. .\dmitted to the bar in 1844 after private course 
of study with Stephen Cleveland and Henry Swift, of. 
Poughkeepsie, he built up a large practice during 
twenty eventful years, and on Januar\- 1st. 1864, he tonk 
his seat as Judge of the Supreme Court for the Second 
Judcial District, State of New York. He served the 
riglu \ears term and was re-elected for a period of 
fourteen years. .As his twenty-second year as a judge 
was drawing to a close (in 1885) he was again re- 
elected for another fourteen years. On Deceml)er 31st, 
1893, having reached the age limit of seventy years 
the law retired him from the bench wlien half through 
his third term, and he resinned the practice nf l;i\\ , 
but for a \-ery brief jieriod, as the new cnnstitiilinii 
permitting justices of the Supreme Court whose term 
liad been limited by age, to be appointed by the dov- 
ernor for the unexpired i)art thereof, went into effect, 
and Governor Morton promptly re-ajjpointed Judge 
I'.arnard to his former position; Governors Black and 
Roosevelt also re-appointed him, and lie therefore 
rounded out thirty-six years of service nii tin- Sui^reme 
Court Bench — the longest period ever recorded in this 
State. He was the presiding Justice of the general 
term in 1870, by sjiecial appointment of the Governor. 
He rendered. over a hundred thousand decisions, and 
these have been looked ui)on as sound in law, and al- 
ways teiii|iered witli jiislico and lu'iiianitw ;iii(| gi 1 
down as authorities and are iiuirc fri'i|iR'iilly (|ii(ite(l 
than those of any other Supreme Court judge. The 
members of the bar. when having very important cases 
before him, many times dispensed with the jury, pre- 
ferring to trust to the just arbitrament of Judge I'.ar- 
nard. .\lways a tireless worker, and his legal abilities 
and judicial mind still unimpaired, he was called iijioii 
to act as referee in important causes up to the time of 
his death, January Cith, i<)04. In politics lie yvas con- 
sistently Democratic, in law absolutely just and im- 
jiartial. in social life a lover of domesticity, fond of 
anecdote, epigrammatic with a keen sense of wit and 
humor and absolutely honest in his dealings with all. 
He was married January 7, 1862, to Miss Emily I!., 
daughter of Abraham B. Hasbrouck. of Kingston, New 
York, and who for ten years was president of Rutgers 
College, and also a member of Congress from I'lster 
County. Frederic, son of Judge Barnard, i.s a well- 
known lawyer of Poughkeepsie, and a daughter is the 
wife of lames Leiio.x Banks, of New York cit\-. 



BIOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX. 



DR. H. \V. I'.ARXUAr. 
Henry Weston I'.arnum, .M. D., was horn in TSridge- 
ville. Sullivan County, X. V.. January 19. if^59- He 
was educated at the Monticello Academy and the Al- 
l)any Normal School, after leaving which he took the 
full course at the Jefferson .Medical College and the 
Xew N'ork School" of I'hvsical Therapeutics, and 
served on the staff of the Manhattan Eye and Ear Hos- 
l)ital three years. He established his practice here in 
i8go, and has gained an enviable reputation for his 
general ability as a physician and his eminent skill as 
a specialist in treating all diseases of the eye — a branch 




1)K. H. W. lURNfiM. 



of his jjrofession to wiiich he has devoted special study 
and care. 

Dr. Barnum is an active spirit in the Prohibition 
cause, and a fervent worker in the .Methodist Episco- 
])al Church. He establislud the now widely known 
ilarnum I'.ible class in i^')~. and lias seen it grow from 
a small beginning to a membershi]) of 150. He is a 
member of the Dutchess Count\- Medical Society, but 
of no other association outside of church and I'rolii- 
Ijition circles. 

Dr. Barnum was married in 18S4 to Miss Margaret 
11. Cunningham, daughter of John F. Cunningham, of 
Xew York city, and has two children now living. 
Lewis .Ashton and Margari'l Kulh I'.arnuni. 

OU\'ER li. !'.()( )'ni. 

(Sec i^ortrait, page 170.) 

Oliver H. Booth, financier, fireman, brewer and 

.ship-owner, was born in Poughkee])sie in 1823, and 

died -March 13th, i8(j6, after a few weeks of the first 



illness he ever sufifered. He was the son of George 
Booth, the ])ioneer woolen manufacturer here, and 
nephew of Matthew \'assar, Sr. He was educated 
here, spent four years at sea, and was clerk in a bank 
at Detroit, but returned to Poughkeepsie when twen- 
ty-one years old and became the bookkeeper at the 
\ assar Brewery. He became partner and afterwards 
succeeded Matthew \ assar, Sr., when the latter retired 
to attend solely to the welfare of his great educational 
institute. He was executor of the wills of Matthew 
Jr.. and John Guy \as.sar, and treasurer of V'as- 
sar Brothers Hospital, was director in several banks 
and vice-president of the City Bank. He was fond 
of the water, and built many vessels, among them 
the steamer "Joseph F. Barnard," which was lost 
somewhere during the Cuban troubles in 1867, 
the "Herald" news yacht, afterward known as "The 
Commodore," the yacht "Idlewild," and a number of 
sloops and schooners. Fie was Commodore of the old 
Poughkeepsie Yacht Club, and owner of the ice yacht 
"Restless." 

Air. Booth was clerk of the village from 1843 until 
Poughkeepsie became a city in 1854. He was a very 
active worker in the fire department, organized the 
"Phoenix Hose" June i8th. 1844, was chief engineer 
1 85 1 to 1854. during which time the "O. H. Booth 
Hose" was established and named for him, was presi- 
dent of the \'eteran Firemens' .Association for several 
vears after its formation in 1886, and at the time of his 
death owned the old "goose neck" engine X'o. 7. He 
was also a member of Poughkeepsie Lodge, F. and A. 
M.. and a citizen whose demise was universally 
mourned. His wife was a daughter of John Ferris, 
of Milan, this county. She died in March. 1893, leav- 
ing one son, Mr. William F. Booth, secretary of the 
Dutchess County .\gricultural .Association. 

CAPT. JOHN H. BRINCKERIIOFF. 
(See portrait, page 231 ). 
Captain John H. BrinckerhoflF was born at Fishkill. 
Hutchess County, N. Y., November 24th. 1827, a son 
of I lenry I. Brinckerhoff , who followed agricultural 
pursuits an<l was eminently respected. Mr. Brincker- 
liiiff. when eleven _\ears of age, moved to LHstcr 
Ciinnt\, and attended the common schools in Eso]nis. 
( )u accinint of the infirm health of his father, he took 
u|)(in himself the management of the farm, and re- 
mained there until he was twenty-four years old. He 
married Miss .\ngeline Terpenning. who died in 
1880, leaving no issue. .After his marriage, he bought 
])ropertv. including mills and factories in Orange 
Count V. In 1883 he jjurchased from Thomas Cornell 
the steamer Mary Powell, one of the fleetest boats t)n 
the Hudson River in those days. He also purchased 
large interests in tlu' Poughkeepsie Transportation 
Comi)any. and subsequently became its president. He 
accomi)lis]ied a great deal for the transportation facili- 
ties of Poughkeejjsie. and was a very large owner of 
the dockage on the river and other valuable jjroperty 
in various i)laces. Captain Brinckcrhott took much 
interest in the Poughkeepsie Electric Light and Power 
Company, and was its largest stockholder. He was 
also a stockholder and treasurer of the Delamater Car- 




Residence oj llu- Icilc Capliiin John II. Ilnnel^ciholt. 



i'74 



BIOGRAPHICAL APPEND! X. 



riage Company. He met with a deploralile carriage 
accident on November 2J, 1901, and died almost im- 
mediately afterwards, and left a precious memory to 
many sorrowing friends. 

He had a beautiful home on Hamilton Street, 
Poughkeepsie, large, capacious and elegant, and left a 
large estate. He was a member of the Trinity Metho- 
dist Episcopal Church, and was one of the most prom- 
inent citizens of Dutchess County. 

SAMUEL H. BROWN. 

(See portrait, page 245.) 
Samuel Holmes Brown, was born in the Town of 
North East, near Millerton, Dutchess County, N. Y., 
and spent his boyhood days at his birthplace on a farm 
owned by his father, Milton Brown. Records fully 
justify the claim that on the father's side he is a de- 
scendant of Peter Brown, who was one of the mem- 
bers of the party who came to this country in the 
"Mayflower." His mother was Phebe Holmes, a 
(laughter of Reuben Holmes, a descendant of Francis 
1 lolmes, who came from Beverely, York, England, 
and who was in Stamford, Connecticut, as early as 
1648, and who died leaving a will dated at Stamford, 
September 6th, 1671. Samuel Holmes Brown attend- 
ed the local schools in and near his home, and also 
attended Amenia Seminary, Cazenovia Seminary, Troy 
lUisiness College and the Albany State Normal School. 
After leaving the farm he spent a short time as clerk 
in a store in his native village, and afterwards was a 
book-keeper for J. B. Enos & Co., who conducted a 
wholesale flouring mill at Waterford, N. Y. He also 
spent a year and a half in teaching in a business col- 
lege in Newark, N. J. It was while teaching in New 
Jersey that he perfected himself in stenography, and 
did some court work not only there, but afterwards 
at Poughkeepsie. Immediately after the death of his 
father, which occurred in 1881, he took up the study 
of law in the ofifice of Hon. Milton A. Fowler, at 
Poughkee])sie, N. Y., and on September 14th, 1883, 
was duly admitted as an attorney and counsellor at 
law. Jie then ojjened a law office in the City of 
l'oughkee]>sie, and also a branch office in his native vil- 
lage, Millerton. 1 lis i)ractice of law has been somewhat 
varied, including both civil and criminal. ( )n the 
deatli of his father he came into possession of the home- 
stead farm, which he conducted for several years, be- 
sides conducting other farms on which he was quite 
extensively engaged in the i)ro(luction of milk and the 
raising of horses, cattle and sheep. Eater on he dis- 
posed of his farm interests, and has devoted his entire 
attention to his profession. He was among the first 
to agitate and assist in the organization of the Miller- 
ton National Bank, and became a member of its first 
Board of Directors. He afterwards became a direc- 
tor of the I'armers and Manufacturers National Bank 
of Poughkeepsie, in which capacity he served for some 
years. In ])olitics he is a Re])ul)lican. In 1893 he was 
made the jiresident of the Rei)ublican Lincoln League 
Club, of Poughkeepsie, N. Y. He has also been in 
the Board of Su])ervisors several years, and later on 
was chosen by the Board of .Aldermen of the City of 
Poughkeepsie as Recorder to till out the term made 



vacant by the resignation of Casper L. Odell, Esq. 
I le is a member of the Amrita Club, Triune Lodge 
.\o. 782, F. and .\. M., of Poughkeepsie, and the Ben- 
evolent and Protective Order of Elks, No. 275, having 
been the presiding officer of said latter named lodge 
for two years, 1901-1903. Up to 1886 his home \\::s 
at Millerton, N. Y., at which time his family, consist- 
ing of his mother, who is still living, and his wife, 
came to Poughkeepsie, where they have lived ever 
since. His wife is Clara Lefferts Duryee, daughter 
of John Wyckoi? Duryee and Elizabeth Taylor Duryee, 
of Mattituck, Long Island. 

DR. EDWARD M. BURNS. 

Edward M. Burns, AI. D., one of the younger 
physicians of Poughkeepsie, yet one who has estab- 
lished a wide practice and who is surely destined to 
become one of the leading and successful experts, was 
born at Bull's Head, just beyond the city limits. May 
19th, 1871. After a careful preparatorv course of edu- 
cation he graduated from Cornell Universitv in 1891, 
and graduated from the medical department of Co- 
lumbia College in 1894. He took the full medical 
course, but in addition thereto made an exhaustive 
study of brain and nervous troubles. Since leaving 
college he has pursued investigation and professional 
research in these special lines with ambitious zeal, lie 
began general practice in Poughkeepsie in 1895, and is 
an honored member of the Dutchess County Medical 
Society, and very popular in the Catholic Church cir- 
cles. He is an ardent member of the Scientific Sec- 
tion of \'assar Brothers Institute, the L iiiversity So- 
ciety and the Benevolent Order of Elks. 

ALLISON BUTTS. 
(See portrait, page 239). 

Allison I'lUtts, a prominent lawyer of Poughkeep- 
sie. was born at Stanford, Dutchess County, N. Y., 
( )ctober 2nd, 1852, son of the late George F. Butts and 
grandson of Moses Ulutts, both of whom were also 
natives of Stanford. I U' is a descendant from one of 
the original settlers in .\ew ICngland. Thomas Butts, 
who came from X'orfolk, I'jigl;md, in iCido and lo- 
cated with the Plymouth Colony. 

Mr. Ihitts was educated in the ])ublic schools and 
acatlemies of Dutchess Count \', and began teaching 
at the age of twenty years. He came to Poughkeep- 
sie January 1st, 1874, as clerk for County Clerk A. C. 
\\'arren, and was soon ])romoted to the station of 
deinity. which office he helil through Imtli Republican 
and Democratic adininistr;itions until Januar_\- ist, 
1S81, when, having studied law and been admitted to 
the bar, he commenced ])ractice as attorney and coun- 
selor, devoting his attention principally to the care and 
settlement of estates, real ])ro])erty and investments, 
lie has continued as he began and long ago became a 
recognized authority on tlu' law relating to trusts, 
real estate and corpoiation law. I le has often been ap- 
pointed by the court to administer trusts, and lias 
served as executor and attornev for large estates. 

I'oliticallv, .Mr. Ilutts is a Democrat, and he has 
been one of tin- most inlluential workers of his party. 



BIOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX. 



275 



He served two terms as police commissioner and three 
years on the Board of Education. In July, 1890, he 
was appointed by the Board of Managers of the Hud- 
son River State Hospital, the Treasurer of that insti- 
tution, and continued to act as such until a chani^e in 
the law in 190J. 

Air. Butts was married December 14th, 1876, to 
Miss Phebe D. Mosher, of Stanford, N. Y. She died 
December 13th, 1882, leaving one son, Ralph P". Butts, 
now one of the rising young lawyers of Poughkeepsie. 
Mr. I'.utts married the second time, Miss Arrie E. 
Mosher, September i6th, 1885. By this marriage he 
has four sons, Xorman C, Allison, jr., Wilbur K., and 
.Mfred M. Mr. Butts has a handsome residence on 
Academy Street. 

COL. HENRY F. CLARK. 

(See portrait, page 262). 
Col. Henry F. Clark, widely famous for his man\- 
inventions, for his expert marksmanship with the 
rifle and for his long and useful career as a National 
Guardsman, was born in the town of Hyde Park, in 
1839. He began the .study of dentistry in Poughkeep- 
sie in 1859, and in 1863 opened an office for the prac- 
tice of his chosen profession. He may truly be called 
one of the most potent factors in the development of 
modern dentistry, having invented many improvements 
which have attained a world-wide endorsement and 
adoi)tion. .More medals and diplomas have been 
awarded to him li\' competent judges at various inter- 
national exhibitions than jirobably to any other dentist 
in the world, and yet to-day he still takes the same 
pride in ])ursuing his private practice in this city as 
he e\er ilid, and is still foremost in devising further 
improvement and development. Early in 1862 he be- 
came a memlier of Conipanv A in the Twenty-first 
Regiment, was soon elected a lieutenant and steadily 
rose through the intermediate grades to the rank of 
Lieutenant-Colonel in 1876. He resigned in 1878 in 
order that he might have more time for long range 
rifle practice. He became an expert and an authority 
on the rifle, and was selected by the National Rifle As- 
sociation of America in 1880 to represent it at Dolly- 
mount, Ireland, in the great International Rifle Match, 
in which his success made him famous as a rifle shot 
throughout the world. In 1886 he was appointed as- 
sistant cpiartermaster general of the State, with the 
rank of colonel, by Governor Hill, and during the 
same vear he went to Europe to represent a company 
which had been formed to exploit his inventions. Re- 
turning to Poughkeepsie in 1S96. he has again given 
his attention to the jiractice of scientific dentistry, first 
at his old office in Liberty Street, and since 1904 at 
52 Market Street. 

MARTIN W. COLLINS. 
(See portrait, page 254"). 
Martin W. Collins, manufacturer, was born at Pleas- 
ant \'alley. N. Y., October 14th. 1847. the great grand- 
son of Joshua Collins, who came from Providence. R. 
I., and settled at Rhinebeck in the latter part of the 
eighteenth ccnturv : the grandson of Martin W. Col- 



lins, who was a lieuicnant in tin- War of iSu. and the 
son of Isaac Collins, the noted engineer and surveyor 
who was the superintendent of the public schovils' of 
Dutchess County from 1868 to 1872. iMr. Collins was 
educated at the district school in Washington, the 
Dutchess County Academy, and tiie Senunarv at 
•Amenia, after which he taught school in Rhinebeck for 
five years. In 1S81 he formed a partnership with 
Benjamin W. \ an W'yck under the firm name of \'an 
Wyck & Collins, and purchased the old established 
steam marble and granite works which they still con- 
tinue to operate. In politics the Collins family have 
been consistentl\- Democratic, and ha\e never been 
backward in doing their duty as citizens or in exhibit- 
ing their fealty to party principles. Mr. Collins has, 
however, never accepted any public office except in 
connection with the public schools, being imbued, as 
was his father, with an earnest desire to promote the 
cause of education and assist in advancing the welfare 
of the rising generations. He was elected School 
Commissioner in 1875 for two years, and re-elected for 
three more consecutive terms, serving a period of 
eight years as such. He became a member of the 
first appointed Board of Education in 1900, and served 
until 1904. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. ; the 
K. of P., and of the Second Reformed Church. Mr. 
Collins was married September Knh, 1870, to Miss Mary 
Kirby, who died in 1873, leaving a daughter who is 
now the wife of William R. Brown, of Poughkeepsie. 
He was married the second time December 20, 1877, 
to Miss Emily M., daughter of William I. Foster, of 
Pleasant \'alley. Their children are Martha Foster 
Collins and Ruth M. Collins. 

GEORGE CORLIES. 
(See page 109.) 
George Corlies, who had a very large part in the 
development of what is now the leading residence sec- 
tion of Poughkeepsie, was born in New York City in 
1804, the son of Benjamin and Phoebe Corlies. When 
a boy he was sent to the Nine Partners Boarding 
School, near Millbrook, and became so fond of the 
neighborhood that he resolved to come to Dutchess 
County to live as soon as he was able to do so. In 
inirsuance of this resolve, in 1834 he bought a farm on 
the Post Road, about three miles south of Poughkeep- 
sie, a part of which was afterwards known as the 
Forby I'lace, and more recently as the Haynes Place. 
While there Mr. Corlies took an active interest in the 
develo])ment of the neighboring village of Poughkeep- 
sie, then growing rapidly, and in 1835 he and others, 
as related in Chapter \'l. pagu loi). of this history, 
])urchased what was then known as the French farm, 
south of Montgomery Street, extending from Hamil- 
ton to Market Street, sm-veyed streets through it and 
sold the lots at auction. Mr. Corlies. like others in- 
terested in real estate at that time, lost heavily from 
the panic of 1837. and r^■turning to New York again 
engaged in business. 1 le was successful, and was 
able to retain his Poughkee])sie holdings, to buy out 
his partners and take back many of the lots previouslv 
sold at auction. In 1852 he came back to Poughkeep- 



276 



lOGRAPHlCAL APPENDIX. 



sie to live, and devoted most of his time to improving 
and develoiiinji- his property. He built the first house 
on Soutli ]Jl)erty Street, now Garfield Place, graded 
the ground, laid out and cultivated a famous garden, 
jilanted the streets with shade trees, and did everything 
to make the neighborhood attractive. In 1861 he sold 
the South Liberty Street house to John Sherman (af- 
terwards president of the stock yards at Chicago), 
and built a house on South I lamilton Street — the house 
now known as the Eirinckerliott house. Soon after 
this the lots in which he was interested began to sell 
more rapidly. He was active in favor of many public 
improvements, and was a leading member of the So- 
ciety of Friends. He was one of the first aldermen of 
the city, 1856-1858, and was a director in the Mer- 
chants' r.ank. He died in ]\Iav, 1892. 



JACOB CORLIES. 
(See page 217.) 

Jacob Corlies, only son of George Corlies, was born 
in New York, April 4th, 1830, and was sent by his 
father in 1842 to the Friends" Boarding School kept by 
Samuel Smith, on Mansion Scjuare, his sister at the 
same time being a pupil at Mr. Gibbons's school near 
by. After the completion of his course of study he 
returned to Xew York and entered the hosiery btisi- 
ness. In 1854 he came to Poughkeepsie to live, and in 
1866 built for his home the house on the east side of 
South Hamilton Street, next north of Henry L. 
Young's. .\t that time there was an orchard on the 
adjoining part of the Young jilace running through to 
Hooker .\venue. 

Air. Corlies has many interesting recoUectiims nf 
the iiM times. He went to Chicago in 1848. going to 
Tniv b\ boat, from there to Utica by railroad, from 
Utica to Buffalo on the Erie Canal, and from Buffalo 
to Chicago bv coasting steamer on the lakes. Chicago 
was then a small village of the type of buildings now 
called "shacks." Opportunities did not seem to be 
greatly better than at liome on the Hudson. Mr. Cor- 
lies was associated with his father in tlu- developnuMit 
and management of his large real estate interests, and 
also became one of the leading real estate owners in 
the city himself. At the sale of the Worrall pro])erty 
in i8rx) he and Andrew King ])iuchased a tract of 42 
acres on the north side of Main Street, and (icorge 
Innis purchased a similar tract adjoining to the east- 
ward. Innis Avenue w-as laid out between the two 
holding.s and Corlies Avenue, Maple Street and King 
Street on the tract fir.st mentioned. This property is 
in large part still owned by Mr. Corlies, and is now 
beginning to build up. A new street, to be known as 
Roosevelt Avenue, is about to be opened between Cor- 
lies and Innis -V venues, from Main Street to King. 

Mr. Corlies became a director in the First National 
Bank in January, 1867, and succeeded Robert Slee as 
president in January, 1894. He has been a trustee of 
the Savings 13ank since February, 1887, when he suc- 
ceeded Henry D. Myers, and is also a trustee of The 
Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery .Association. Besides 
these many activities he has served the city well in a 
number of public offices, including those of alderman, 



member of the .\lms House Board, and member of the 
Board of Education. 

Mr. Corlies was married, September 6th, 1855, to 
Edith W. Haines, of New York, and they have had four 
children. Franklin H., Eliza (married J. .\rthur Lock- 
wood, October 23, 1884). George and Walter. All 
are living except Franklin. George (married Minnie 
Osborn, of Poughkeepsie, in igoi), is in business in 
New York; Walter (married Ella Hitchcock, of Sing 
Sing in 1887), and Mrs. Lock wood live in Poughkeep- 
sie. 

DR. JOHN H. COTTER. 

Jnhn Henry Cotter, M. D.. was bcirn at Pleasant 
Xalley, Dutchess County, N. V., .\pril 6th, 1851. He 
was practically thrown upon bis own resources at the 
age of twelve years, when he went to work at East 
Park, liut studied at night and attended school in the 
winter months. In i8(i6> he was admitted to the 
Dutchess County .\cademy, but was forced to leave 
one month before graduation in 1869 and return to 
work as a farm hand. In 1874 he began the study of 
medicine with Dr. Denny and afterwards with Dr. 
lloyt. He then attended the Albany Medical College 
and graduated with high honors therefrom as M. D., 
February 3d, 1878. He began practice at once at Mt. 
Ross, but removed to Jackson Corners in 1880, where 
he established a lucrative practice, w'hich he turned 
over to his nephew in May, 1894, and came to Pough- 
keepsie, where he now enjoys a large and increasing 
patronage. He is now the physician of the New York 
Central and Hudson River Railroad Company. Dr. 
Cotter is a firm believer in the principles of Democracy, 
but is not a politician. He was health officer at 
Milan, and also at Gallatin for several years, and was 
]x)stmaster at Jackson Corners, but his ability as a 
physician and recognized integrit\- as a man had much 
more to do with his incumbencv of those offices than 
political influences. He is a member of the Dutchess 
County Medical Society, New York State Medical So- 
ciety, .\lumni .Association of Albany Medical College, 
the Medical Philosoi)hical Society of Northern Dutch- 
ess and Southern Columbia, St. Peter's Roman Catho- 
lic Church, of the Catholic Benevolent Legion, the 
Knights of St. George, the Benevolent Order of Elks, 
,iud the Knights of Columbus, of which latter he has 
hern nne of the trustees since the organization here, 
lie is also an active member of Young .America No. 6 
h'ngine Company. Dr. Cotter has been twice married ; 
first in August,' 1880, to Miss Mary Smith, of Galla- 
tin, N. Y.. wdio died in July. 1885, and in February, 
1888. to Aliss Mary Frances Calvey, also of Gallatin. 

THE DELAV.AL SEPARATOR CO.MPA.VY. 
(See page 234). 

Tlu' Akliebolaget Separator, of Stockhulm, Swed- 
en, having been introduced to .American farmers, a 
plant for its manufacture in this country was estab- 
lished in 1891. at Bloomfield, N. J., but soon removed 
ti> I'nughkeepsie, where the works were started in June, 
iS(jj. with a force of fifty emi)loyees. The separator 
is a mechanical device constructed for the piu-posc of 



BIOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX. 



277 



separating- the cream from the milk when still warm 
and as it leaves the cow, thereby doing- away with the 
old system of cooling with ice or setting in pans. It 
practically takes care of all the fatty substances in the 
milk, and the consequent increase in yield of butter, 
gained by its use, represents an average of ten dollars 
per cow annually, which in an average dairy will pay 
for the first cost of the machine in one year. It is the 
invention of Dr. DeLa\'al. of Stockholm — the same 
master genius who has produced the steam turbine, 
which is destined to revolutionize the steam engine as 
completely and successfully as his separator has 
changed and developed the old dairying methods. 

In establishing works here, the American Company 
was incorporated vmder the laws of New Jerse\-, as 
"The DeLaval Separator Company." Their business 
has increased very rapidly, especially in the past five 
years, so much so that they are now employing about 
five hundred men and producing about fifty thousand 
separators annually. The original works here have 
been constantly enlarged by the erection of additional 
buildings and n-iachini-ry, a new power plant on the 
very best improved nK-thnds being built in 1903. 

For the past ten years the company has been inider 
the nianagement of Mr. Oscar llernstrom, who, ably 
assisted by Mr. T. H. Miller, the present superinten- 
dent, and an efficient office stafif, has proven himself 
to be the right man in the right place in every respect. 

The sales department and general offices of tiie 
company are in New York City and branch offices and 
re])air shops in Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, 
Toronto. Montreal and Winnipeg, and agents in all 
parts of the country. Our illustration shows the com- 
pany's street, with their various buildings on both 
sides thereof. 



JOHN DE PEYSTER DOl'W. 

John de Peyster Douw (1812-190O was the son 
of John de Peyster Douw (1735-1836) and Catharine 
Douw Gansevoort ( 1782- 1848) , and grandson of Volck- 
ert Pieter Douw (1720-1801) and Anna de Peyster 
(1723-1794). His grandfather was Mayor of Albany, 
as was also his great-grandfather. Johannes de Peys- 
ster (1694-1779), and his great-great-grandfather, 
Myndert Schuyler (1672-1735). His grandfather was 
\'ice-President of the First Provincial Congress, which 
met in New York City May. 1775, and his grand- 
father, Leonard Gansevoort, Jr.. (1754-1834) was a 
member of the Congress that assembled at Kingston, 
1777, and assisted in the formation of a State govern- 
ment for New York. He was born at 82 State 
Street (now \'olckert Building), Albany, New York, 
and educated at the .-X-lbany Academy, Flushing, L. 
I. Military Academy (kept by Lindley Jvlurray Moore), 
and Chittenango Polytechnic Institute. Madison 
County, N. Y., kept by Rev. Andrew Yates, D. D. Mr. 
Douw engineered one year on the Albany and Schenec- 
tady Railroad. In 1835 he went to Europe, and the 
next year studied law and was in the office of the Mas- 
ter of Chancery, was aiipointed Judge Advocate of the 
Third Brigade Light Artillery, with the rank of Major 
in 1835, taking the oath April 30th — William L. 



Marcy, Governor. He was appointed inspector with 
rank of Colonel in the First Division of Cavalry May 
23d, 1842, and took oath August 4th — William H. Sew'- 
ard, Governor, on whose staff he was. His resigna- 
tion was granted by John Taylor Cooper. Major Cicn- 
eral. July 29th, 1844. 

Colonel Douw was in I'',unii)e 1847-8, and then 
settled at Millburn or Hudson I'.usli, eight miles south- 
east of Hudson. N. Y., the former home of Colonel 
Henry J. \'an Rens.selaer (1742-1814), nephew of his 
great-grandmother, .\nna \'an Rensselaer (1696- 
1756). In 1854 he came to Poughkeepsie, and rented 
from George B. Lent the pro])erty now owiietl by Rob- 
ert Sanford. Esq., on North Hamilton Street. He 
took title of the property on North Avenue — west side 
— in May, 1855, where he lived until his death in Jan- 
uary. 1901. He married Marianna Chandler Lanman 
(1826- 1884) in 1854, and had five children: Mary 
Lanman, Margaret Livingston, Charles G.. Helen 
Louise and Henry Chandler. Was warden of Christ 
Church in 1878. ' 

THE DLTTCHESS INSURANCE COMPANY. 
(See page 162.) 

On May 20th, 1836, was held the first meeting of 
the ISoard of Directors of the Dutchess County Mutual 
Insurance Company. The members present were 
James Emottt. Ale.x. Forbus, John M. Ketcham, John 
Schryver, James Mabbett, Thomas Taber, Silas Ger- 
mond and Homer Wheaton. The first officers elected 
were as follo-ws: 

President — James Emott, father of the first Mayor 
of Poughkeepsie. 

Vice-President — James Mabbett, of Mabbettsville. 

Secretary — James E. Slater, M. D. 

General Agent — Elijah Haight. 

Attorney — Alex. Forbus, ow-ner of the old Forbus 
House property. 

The first year's cash ])remiums amounted to $2,556.- 
"2. Expenses and losses, $249. 2(;. The net prem- 
iums received in 1846 amounted to $4,908.17: in 1856 
to $14,828.74: in 1866, to $38,558.29: in 1876, to $66,- 
622.85 : '" ^^77- to $71,371-7'^: in 1878, to $65,391.13 : 
in 1879. to $58,857.57: in 1880, to $55,105.51. 

It will be seen that the 41st year of the com|)any's 
business under the old managenient reached the top 
notch, and from 1877 to 1880. inclusive, fell i)ff about 
one-third. 

In 1 88 1 a new Board of Directors was elected, who 
made a change in the officers of the company. In 
1 886, after five years under the new managenient, 
which was the 50th year of the company's business. 
the premiums amounted to $187,859.27. The past 
year ( 1904) was the largest of the company's business, 
the premiums amounting to $605,838.39. 

Ten of the directors, who were elected in 1881, 
have passed away, namely : Peter R. Sleight, Jacob 
Hagadorn. David Brvan, John ]. \'anderburgh, 
George T. Doughty, Oliver J. Tillsoii, L. C. Rapelye. 
John G. Schultz, Jacob G. \'an Wyck. and Jacob 
Lefever. 

In the year 1892, after a series of very bad years. 



278 



BIOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX. 



llie rc-iiisurance reserve became impaired to a small 
extent. There were some members of the Board of 
Directors, whose names have been placed on the 
Honor Roll, who came to the front and said the 
"Old Dutchess" nnist not go to the wall, but must be 
continued ; and these gentlemen paid out their money, 
with nothing to show for it, bridging the company over 
this critical time. Their names are as follows: Mil- 
ton A. Fowler, Hon. Jacob Lefever, O. J. Tillson, Eu- 
gene Ham, William S. Ketcham. Willard H. Mase, 
Jacob 11. Carpenter. Jnhn \. Lewis, L. H. Vail and 
David llryan. 

P'ive of these gentlemen have since gone to the 
"Long Home," Messrs. Tillson, Mase, Carpenter, Le- 
fever and Bryan. There were some hard struggles for 
existence during the past twenty years, but it weather- 
ed the storm, and to-day is recognized as one of the 
Insurance Companies of the country, even though not 
as large as some. It docs not have to beg for patronage 
and take almost anything that is offered, but the busi- 
ness comes oi its own volition, and the company is able 
to choose the desirable and reject the undesirable risks. 
One of the greatest heljis to the success of the company 
has been the manner in which the Board of Directors 
has stood Ix-hind the president and upheld his hands in 
his efforts for the success of the company. In the twen- 
t_\--t\vo years that President L. H. Vail has l^een con- 
nected with the company as one of its officers he has 
never asked anything of the Board in the interest of 
the company that has not been granted, and one of 
tlie bright spots in his memory is the manner in which 
tile 1 Ton. Jacob Lefever came to the front with a rattling 
speech and braced llie backs of some of the weaker 
members at the time it was necessary to put up some 
mom-w for had this not been done at that time the 
"Dutclu-ss" Wduld have been ime nf the Cdrnjianies of 
the ]i;ist — would have gone down in the great raid 
ni;ide I)\ the large stock companies against the "Mu- 
tuals." 

Mr. William S. Ketcham is the oldest director, and 
was elected in 1854. Mr. John N. Lewis comes next, 
elected in 1875. Mr. L. \\. \'ail was elected presi- 
dent in 1 888, and Mr. J. J. (Traham secretary in 1888. 

T'lie Insurance Building, recently enlarged and 
otherwise modernized, has bei'U occui)ied since 1855. 

THE E.\GLIv 

The career of the Ea^mlc is so interwoven with the 
general history of Poughkeei)sie and has therefore 
been mentioned .so often that little remains to be .said 
al)ont the pa])er. The story wotdd not be complett-. 
however, without giving some details which ]XTtain 
esi^ecially to it. Its distinct and sei)arate existence 
has always been considered by its present pul)lishers 
as dating from the year 1S28. when Isaac Piatt founded 
the Dutchess Intclliiiciiccr. but that pajier was after- 
wards consolidated with two others — the Dutchess 
Republican and the Poiiiihkcepsic Joiirna! — and 
through its absorjition of the latter, which dated from 
1785, it is undoubtedly by far the oldest newspai)er 
published in Poughkeepsie, and has some claim ui>on 
succession to the earlier journal published b\' John 
Holt in New York and removed to Poughkeepsie 



when the liritisii took that city in the Revolutionary 
war. John Holt's journal was the direct successor, in 
imbroken line, from the Gazette, established in New 
York by William Bradford, in 1725, which was the 
first newspaper printed in that city ami the third in 
America, the first having been printed in Boston and 
the second in Philadelphia. Both of those earlier 
papers long ago ceased to exist, and the Journal, which 
was removed back to New York after the evacuation 
of that city by the British, also ceased to exist many 
\ears ago, while the Poughkeepsie Journal was started 
here after a short interval by Nicholas Power to take 
its jjlace. It was always an important factor in the 
jiromotion of every important interest in Poughkeepsie, 
and the Eagle has never failed to retain the same char- 
acteristic down to the present time. 

Isaac Piatt continued actively engaged in writing 
editorials for the Eagle and in control of its policy al- 
most up to the time of his death, June 17th. 1872, and 
the influence of his long continued la1)or is still felt in 
Poughkeepsie and in Dutchess County. 

William Schram was one of the owners of the 
Jdiiriial at the time of the consolidation with the Eagle, 
in 1S44. and remained a partner with Mr. Piatt until 
A]iril I. 1865. when he was succeeded by Mr. Piatt's 
eldest son, John I. Piatt, and removed to Newburgh. 
James B. Piatt, second son of Isaac Piatt, became a 
member of the firm April ist, 1869. and Edmimd. 
Piatt, eldest son of John I. Piatt. July ist. 1892. Since 
1872 the style of the firm has been Piatt & Piatt. The 
j:)aper was for many years published at 310-12 Main 
Street. In November 1862. that building was par- 
tially burned, and until it could be re])aired the Eagle 
was temporarily ]nihlished in the City Hall. In 1868 
the building at 10 and t2 Liberty Street was comjileted 
and the jilant ri'moved there. In 1878 the job print- 
ing business coiinecle<l with the ])aper was sold to 
.\ndreas \'. Haight. previously of Rondont, and in 
1S83 the building was enlarged so as to extend from 
Liberty to Mechanic Streets, covering an area of 
40x100 feet. In 1903 the present Eagle building at 8 
Libertv Street was erected, and the older one leased 
for a term of ye.ars to the A. \'. I laight Com])any. 

The first nnmbc'r of the lltiily Eagle was ])rinteil 
December 4th. i8()(). and was the first newspajier in 
l'oughkee|)sie, and for a long time the only one, whicli 
received news b\- telegraph. The beginning of the 
w.ir for tlu' I'nion in the s])ring of 1861, made this 
news of so gri'.'it importance that it brought the \K{]k-v 
;il once to the front and gave it a leadership which 
if has e\er since retained. The ll'eehly Eagle was con- 
tinueil until i88(). when it w-as changed to a i^emi- 
Weekl\-. I'.olli editions have been repeatedly enlarged. 
In Julw 18S3, the Weekl}- was made an eight page 
!)ai)er, and in 1888 the Dailv made the same change. 
In December, 1804. the Eagle installed the first linotvi)e 
ni.'ichine in Poughkeepsie, and in 1895 intro(hiced a 
second machine and enlarged both editions to (lie 
])resent size. A characteristic of the business manage- 
ment of the Eagle has been the lony- continued ])ersonal 
relations which have bei'n maintained by its publishers 
with its emplovees. T")in'ing the seventy-seven years 
since the foundation of the Piilehess Fntellii^eneer the 
Eir'le has h:u\ but two eililors. Isaac Pl.att having oc- 




///,■ /u!;^/<- niii/ifnig. 



280 



BIOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX. 



cupit'd that position for forty-four years, and John I. 
I'latt for forty years, the first seven of wliich were in 
association witli his father. With the exception of 
two persons, every man in the cstabhshment began his 
newspaper career on the Eagle, and has continued in 
its employ ever since. The senior of them all is the 
nigjit foreman. Mr. Samuel C. Chase, who began in 
icS57, and has therefore been continuously employed 
for forty-eight years. When the war began in April, 
1861, George W. Davids was employed as local re- 
porter, afterwards citv editor, and continued in that 
position till he died, February ist, 1894. His son. 
George W. Davids, took his place and in 1904 suc- 
ceeded John H. Swertfager, who had been for eighteen 
years night editor. Of those who assisted in getting 
out the first number of the Eagle, three. Mr. Chase, 
and the two senior proprietors, are still members of the 
force, while two others, Edward W. Shurter and John 
Maher, continued in the same service during the re- 
mainder of their lives, Mr. Maher having been stricken 
with ])ara!ysis while at his case in 1903. 

In ])olicy the Eagle has always been independent, 
dominated first of all by loyalty to what its editors have 
considered the best interests of Poughkecpsie and its 
vicinity. During the years when the Whig party was 
a power in the country it was a supporter of that party, 
but when the irrepressible conflict between freedom and 
slaverv began it was uncompromising in its advocacy 
of all measures for the restriction and ultimate extinc- 
tion of slavery, and when the Republican party was 
born the Eagle enthusiastically adopted its principles 
and has steadily supported them. Locally, every pub- 
lic improvement has received its best help, and in ad- 
vocacv of many of them it has been the leader. Its 
field has necessarily been limited by the proxiniit\' 
of the metropolis of .America, but notwithstanding this. 
few papers have been able to make tlu'mselves more 
infliiential, and none have received more hearty and 
appreciative support. 

TI()\. I'.nWARI) EI.SWoRTH. 
( See page 241 ). ) 
Ili>n. Ivhvard Ivlsworth. ex-M;i\i>r and leading 
financier of Poughkeepsie. was born in New York City 
January 6th. 1840, being the son of jdlm and Martha 
(Van \'arick) Elsworth. and lineal descendant of 
Christoffel Elswaert. a New York Citv freeholder in 
I'^.xS- M^- Elsworth was educated at Rutger's Gram- 
mar School, and at the Dutchess County .\cademy. He 
then attended the State and National T<aw School, 
from which he was graduated in 1858, and continued 
the study of law in the offices of Thompson & Weeks, 
and Homer .\. Nelson, lie was admitted to the bar 
in 1861. and became managing clerk in the office of 
I'.ernard Roelker. in New York City. Returning to 
Poughkecpsie he practiced law for several years in 
Dutchess and Rockland Counties, and then entered into 
partnership with Guilford Dudley in the hardware and 
iron business, continuing in this connection for many 
years. He was chosen a trustee of the Poughkeepsie 
Savings Bank in 1876. and president of the Fallkill 
National P.ank in 1891. resigning the latter in Janu- 
ary, 1903, to assume the i)residency of the Poughkeep- 



sie Savings P.ank. which ])Osition he now holds. Mr. 
Elsworth's parents having settled in Poughkeepsie in 
1848, he has practically Iieen identified here for over 
fifty years. As a staunch Democrat and influential 
leader in his party councils he has made a lasting im- 
pression upon the political life and municipal progress 
of Poughkeepsie. He served in 1874 as Supervisor 
of the Third Ward ; from 1880 to 1887 he was an active 
School Commissioner, and in 1886 was elected Mayor 
for two years. Charles M. Rowdey succeeded him to 
that office, but in 1890 Mr. Elsworth was re-elected 
for the second term. He was judge advocate of the 
8th i'.rigade, N. G. S. N. Y.. for several years, and in 
i()02 he was elected chairman. Group 6, of the New- 
York State Bankers' Association. ]\Ir. Elsworth is a 
member of the Sons of the Revolution, the Holland 
Society, the Reform Club of New York City, the New 
York State Bankers" Association, and the Reformed 
Dutch Church. He has for several years been vice- 
president of the Holland Society for Dutchess County, 
is trustee of \'assar Brothers Institute and has been 
its treasurer since its organization. He has been trus- 
tee of \'assar College since 1892. the year he received 
the degree of A. M. from Rutgers, and succeeded 
Willard L. Dean as treasurer. He was married 
November 26th, 1867, to Miss Mary, daughter of Sam- 
uel F>. Johnston, who for many years was vice-presi- 
dent of the Fallkill I'ank. He was a cousin of General 
Albert Sidney Johnston, a descendant of Archibald 
Johnston, of Rexulutionary memory. 

IK )\. J.X.MES EM( )TT. 
(See page 152.) 

Judge James Emott was the .son of James Emott 
who was also formerly a Justice of the Supreme Court 
of this State, and a resident of the City of Poughkeep- 
sit\ when James Emott, his son. was Imrn on the 23rd 
of April, 1823, in the homestead, now known as Xo. 
4(1 .Market Street. 

Judge Emott. after a successful career at the bar 
and on the bench, died at his residence on Academy 
Street, in Poughkeepsie, on September 12th, 1884. He 
married Mary Crooke, daughter of Charles Crooke. at 
one time a leading business man of the city, engaged 
in freighting at the old Lower Landing. Judge Emott 
left surviving at the time of his decease, his widow 
and two children, a daughter. Laura, and his son. 
Charles C. all of whom are still living. Judge Emott 
was graduated from Columbia College, and immedi- 
ately entered u])on the study of the law, and after his 
admission to the bar, connnenced jiractice in the City 
of Poughkeepsie. He soon acquired a leading position 
at the bar of the county, besides being largely engaged 
in business aft'airs outside of his jjrofession. lie was 
made i)resident of the Merchants I'.ank in the city in 
JuK. 1852, and retained that position until his decease. 

lie was the first Mayor of the Cit> <if I'nughkeep- 
sie. chosen under its newly ac(|nired charter, as else- 
where stated in this history. To the discharge of all 
the duties of his jirofessional and business life he de- 
voted a clear and comjirehensive mind, great diligence 
and unswerving integrity. Tn politics he was always 
a I\ei)ublican. This Judicial District, including as it 



BIOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX. 



281 



did the City of Brooklyn, the Counties on Long 
Island, and those south of Dutchess, was strongly Dem- 
ocratic, and partisan nominations were made. There 
was no hope for the election of a Republican judge in 
the district in an ordinary election. Hut in 1836 the 
Democrats were divided, and put two judicial candi- 
dates in nomination, when Judge Emott was nomi- 
nated by the Republican party, and was elected, and 
held the position of Justice of the Supreme Court for 
eight years, to 1864. Under the law as it then was, 
two Justices of the Supreme Court having the shortest 
time to serve, acted as Judges of the Court of .ap- 
peals, and under that provision Judge Emott served 
the later years of his term in the Court of .Appeals. 
He went to the bench well equipped for its duties. To 
his large experience as a practicing lawyer, he added 
ripe scholarship, not only in the learning of the law, 
but a more than ordinary degree of general and liter- 
ary culture. He early acquired, and always main- 
taineii, a high rank as a judge. His opinions are re- 
ported chiefly in the volumes of Harbour's Supreme 
Court Reports, and are notable for their legal learning, 
their grasp and ready application of legal principles, 
and for ease and lucidity of style. 

On leaving the bench at the expiration of his 
term Judge Emott entered into partnership with ex- 
Judge Henry M. Taylor, and resumed the practice 
of law under the firm of Emott & Taylor, in the 
City of Poughkeepsie. But he was soon attracted to 
the wider professional field in New York city. He 
entered into practice there, and soon acquired a place 
among the foremost leaders of the bar in the city. 
There he continued to practice with increasing repu- 
tation and success, until stricken with the sickness 
which terminated fatally, in 1884, in the sixty-first 
year of his age. He made his residence in New York 
City during the latter years of his life, becoming iden- 
tified with several of the leading organizations in that 
city, particularly the I'nion League and Central Clubs 
and the Xew York Bar Association. 

E\ERTSON ANCESTRY. 
( See page 80. ) 

Evert Heindricxssen, Stamvadcr der Evertsen, 
Scheepsbevelhebber, (commander of ship), died 1601 ; 
married ist Lentje Leynse, and had: 

Johan Evertsen, de Kapitein, took the name of 
Evertsen. son of Evert; died in battle at sea. 1617: 
married Alaayken Jans, who died in 1647. and had: 

Johan Evertsen. 1600-1666. Knight of the Order of 
St. Michael, Lieutenant-Admiral van Zeeland ; died 
August 5, 1666, in battle with the English fleet. His 
brother Cornelis Evertsen de Oude, I^ieulenant-Ad- 
miral van Zeeland, was slain in the same battle. The 
brothers were buried in one grave, and a splendid mar- 
ble monument in the Cathedral of Middleburg. Hol- 
land, records in simple language the virtues and hero- 
ism of these great men. ( Cornelis Evertsen de Oude 
was the father of Cornelis Evertsen de Jongste, 1642- 
1706, Lieutenant- Admiral van Zeeland, 1684, who took 
New York from the English, July 30, 1673, "nimmer 
getrouwd," and of Geleyn Evertsen, 1655-1721, Lieu- 
tenant-Admiral van Zeeland, 1707.) Johan Evertsen 



married, 1622, Maayken Cornelis.sen Gorcoms, daugh- 
ter of Cornelis Jan.scn Gorcoms, Scheeiihevelhebber, 
and had : 

Cornells Evertsen de jnnge, ifij8- 1()7(,, \ ice-Ad- 
miral van Zeeland, and 

Evert Evertson. burn 1(130. He went to the 
West Indies (probably in the expeilition ol" hi.s 
cousin Cornelis Everlsm dc Jongste, 1673), and 
acquired property in the Isl.ind of Tobago, in- 
herited by his great-grandsnn Jacob. His wife's 
name is not known. His son, 

Nicholas Evertsen, born in Weesp, Holland. De- 
cember 27, 1659, will proved October 24. 1723 
(Register's Office. N. Y. Liber G, p. 575). mar- 
ried 1st. December 25, 1679, Marie Jan" Iluvge, 
born 1664. Their daughter, Willemyntje. I'lorn 
1686. at Monichendam, Holland. He was cap- 
tain of New York troops in an expedition against a 
French privateer. 1704. (Report of N. Y. State His- 
torian. \'ol. II. p. 4S3, X. Y. Gen. and Biog. Rec. 
\'ol. IX, 1878. October, p. 155). He married .secondly 
in Albany, N. Y., June 9, 1698, Margaret \'an I'-aal. 
born October i. 1672, daughter of Jan Hendrickse \'an 
Baal, 1636-1682. Commissaris. (Judge of Court of Ad- 
miralty), and Helena, widow of Cornelis Bogardus, 
and daughter of William Teller, and had : 

Nicholas Evertson, born in New York City, May 
24, i6<-)9, baptized in Old Dutch Church, llc'iiidvell 
to South Amboy, X. J., where he acquired a fine 
property on Raritan Hay. consisting of valuable cla\ 
banks. His grave is on this property, and his tomb- 
stone records his death March 17. 1783. He was 
Judge of Common Pleas and Quarter Sessions of the 
Peace, Middlesex County, 1746. His will is in the 
Secretary of State's office. Trenton, N. J. He mar- 
ried Susanna, daughter of Jacob Roeters. who outlived 
him, (His brother, John Evertson. 1701-1772. mar- 
ried first, her sister Sophia Roeters. and second. Elsie 
Ray. no issue), and had: 

1. George Evertson. Quartermaster in Ci'lmiel 
Elias Dayton's exiiedition to take the ship "lUue Mmin- 
tain \'alley," January 22. \7jC\ Elizabethtown. X. j. 
Cajitain and De])Uty C(ininiissar\- (^f Military Stures. 
1 8th January. 1777. 

2. Margaret, who married Captain James Morgan, 
and had Major-General James Morgan, of the Revolu- 
tion. 

3. Mary, who married l\i-y. Wheeler Case, and had 
Walter Case, who married Sarah Hasbrouck. 

4. Susannah, who married Joseph Ellason. 

5. Elizabeth, who married \\'illiam Buckalew. 

6. John, who married and had issue, and 

Jacob Evert.son. born at South Ambi>y. Xew jer- 
sey. January 3, 1734; died May i, 1807; married 
October 29, 1761, Margaret Bloom, born .\ugust 21). 
1744. died November 18, 1807, daughter of George 
P.loom. He moved to .\menia, N. Y., in 1762, where 
he came into possession of about 1,700 acres "laying 
in the Nine Partner Patent, Dutchess County. X. ^'.." 
and in 1763 built a large brick house in a superior man- 
ner, which is well ])reserved. He removed about 1795 
to Pleasant \'alley. Dutchess County, X. Y.. where he 
died, and was buried in the graveyard of the Presby- 



282 



BIOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX. 



terian Church. lie was elected a Deputy from Dutch- 
ess County to the second Provincial Congress of New- 
York. 1775, 1776. [Calendar of Historical Manu- 
scripts, Albany, N. Y. Revolutionary papers, 1886, 
Vol. I, p. 190], and had : 

I. John; married Julia 3ilatthe\vs. and had: i. Mar- 
garet, married John Xitchie, who had Sophia Lewis, 
married Sanford Cobb ; 2, Sarah, married Wm. Phil- 
lips, who had John Evertson, married Elizabeth T. 
W'isner ; 3, Julia Ann, married Rev. Abram D. Wilson, 
who had Henry M. B. ; 4, Jacob Reuters, married Eliza 
Phillips, who had John Reuters, married Louisa Weir ; 
5, Nicholas, married Clarissa Hasbrouck, who had 

Elizabeth, married Eager, and Julia, married H. 

A. Field. 

n. Margaret, married Gov. John Cotton Smith, of 
Connecticut, and had William Mather Smith, married 
Helen Livingston, who had Rev. Gilbert L., Dr. Rob- 
ert, married Gertrude Bolden, and Hon. John Cotton 
Smith. 

III. Nicholas, married Eliza Howe, and had: i, 
Margaret, married Henry Richards, who had James 
and Henry ; 2, Edgar, married Adeline Dickinson, who 
had Eliza, married Francis H. Saltus ; 3. Marv Ann, 
married John Givan, who had Mary, married first, 
Henry Richards, 2nd, Dr. George H. Moore, and Mar- 
garet, married Rev. Dr. Howard Crosby. 

IV. Catharine, died young. 

V. George Bloom, died young. 

\'I. George Bloom Evertson, born near Amenia, 
Dutchess County, N. Y., February 20, 1773; died at 
Ithaca, Tompkins County, N. Y., August 12, 1829. 
He inherited a handsome property from his father, and 
resided in Poughkeepsie, N. Y., in the fine old gambrel- 
roofed mansion on the south side of Cannon Street, 
nearly opposite Liberty Street. The lot was 75 feet 
wide and extended through to Church Street. He 
owned "Springside," afterwards sold to the late Mat- 
thew Vassar, founder of the college, and several farms 
in the vicinity, on which he raised sheep. As early as 
1806 he was proprietor of a ship-yard at the foot of 
Union Street, where he built sailing vessels and trad- 
ed with New York, Boston and Passamaquaddy. He 
was president of the branch bank in Poughkeepsie of 
the Manhattan Bank, New York City, and his corre- 
spondence with Henry Remsen, ICsq., President, ex- 
tended from 1809 to 1825. About 1820 he was ap- 
pointed Judge of the Quarter Sessions of the Peace. 
Having become involved by endorsing for a friend 
he sold out his property in 1827, and in May, 1828, 
moved with his family to Ithaca, N. Y., where he died 
the next year. He married first, November 18, 1794. 
Cornelia, daughter (jf Dr. Peter Tappan, born March 
II, 1774, died January 29, 1808. Children: i, John, 
died young ; 2, lilizabeth ; 3, Peter Ta])pan, died young ; 
4, John Reuters, married and had John. Clinton and 
F.vert ; 5, Cornelia, married Dr. Benjamin S. Ilalsey, 
who had Mary Elizabeth, George Timothy, Clinton 
Smith, married Eliza S. Ayres ; Helen Maria, married 

Granger; George Evertson, married Alphonsine 

Hungcrford ; Tappan, married Mary King, and Wm. 
Davies, married Louise Seymour. 



He married secondlx'. Ajiril 3, 1809. Francis Mary, 
daughter of Dr. Samuel Nicoll, born December 17, 
1785, died ]\larch 24, 1861. Children: i, Anne, died 
young; 2, Frances Mary, married Wm. Amos Wood- 
ward, who had George Evertson, married E. B. Deo- 
data Mortimer; Francis William, married Anne Jay 
Delaplaine ; Alary Nicoll, married Erastus Gaylord 
Putnam, and Harriet Bowen, married John Wylie Bar- 
row ; 3, Margaret Maria Bloom, married Hart G. Lee, 
who had James Wright, married Rhoda Carlton, and 
Georgiana Frances, married James AI. Douglass ; 4, 
Adelaide Elizabeth, married Samuel M. McKay, who 
had Robert Riddell, married Eliza Hun Co.x ; Margaret 
Greenwood, married liarmanus Barkulo Hubbard,; 
Adelaide Elizabeth, married William L. Hubbard; 
Alary Woodward, married Franklin Ouimby ; 5. Cath- 
arine Lewis, married John D. Dix, who had Adelaide 
Frances, Wm. Woodward, Mary Evertson, George 
Woodward (married Elise Woodruff) John James, 
Lena Augusta and Ellen Elizabeth ; 6, Helen Smith,, 
died young; 7, Walter Davies, and 8, Eliza Ann, twins; 
Walter married Ann Alary Fatheree, who had Alice 
Nicoll, married J. R. Gwynn, David Barrow, married 
AI. AIcLaren ; George James, married Susie Davis ; 
Alary Eliza, married J. R. Oldham : Walter Lee, Annie 
Elizabeth and Adelaide AIcKay ; 9, William Nicoll, 
died young; 10, George, died }oung ; 11, George, died 
young. 

\^II. Catharine, marrietl Rev. Isaac Lewis, and had: 
I, Alargaret Alaria, married Dr. Harvey P. Peet, prin- 
cipal of N. Y. Institution for Deaf and Dumb, who had 
Dr. Isaac Lewis Peet, principal ditto, married Alary 
Toles ; 2, William Evertson. married Adeline Donald- 
son, who had Catharine Louisa, married Edward H. 
Alann, and W'illiam Mount, married Ann Eliza Phelps ; 
3, Louisa C, died young; 4, Mary Elizabeth, married, 
Wm. AI. Smith, who had Walter Evertson, married 
Alary Clarkson ; Catherine Lewis, married Edward P. 
Buffet ; Alary Alason, married Wm. H. Sampson, and 
Sarah Alather, married Cornelius H. Clark ; 5, Eliza 
St)i)hia, married David \'an Nostrand ; 6, Isaac, mar- 
ried Cornelia Donaldson. 

\'HI. Jacob Reuters, died of yellow fever in the Is- 
land of Tobago, W. I., at the age of 25. 

IX. Alary or Maria, married first, Justin Foote, of 
Newburgh, N. Y. ; 2nd. William Davies of Pough- 
keepsie : one child, Walter livcrtson Davies, died 
\'oung. 

X. Walter, married Eliza Roo.sevelt, and had: i, 
Henry Holland ; 2, Maria Elizabeth, married Dr. 
John C. Brigham, who had John Clark, Eliza Roose- 
velt, Walter Evertson, married Fannie B. ArmsteSd ; 
Alary Douglass, married John H. Cooke; Amariah 
Ward, married Emma J. Wilde, and Autninette Gib- 
son, married James B. Hopper. 

CLEMENT CARRINGTON G.MXES. 

(See page 255.) 

Clement Carrington Gaines, President of luistman' 

lUisiness College, is a native of Charlotte County, _ 

\ irginia, of English ancestry, and a descendant of 

several of the earliest Virginia families. One of his 



BIOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX. 



283 



ancestors was one of the first governors of the Col- 
ony ; two others were members of the House of liur- 
gesses in Colonial times, representing Charlotte 
County, Virginia, and were among the supporters 
of Patrick Henry in his heroic efforts in the cause 
of independence. The family still own extensive plan- 
tations, and are prominent in their locality ; but. like 
the majority of the Southern people, they suft'cred 
financially from the Civil War. 

Mr. Gaines enjoyed exceptional educational ad- 
vantages, and had a wide experience as a teacher and 
business man before coming to Poughkeepsie. He 
graduated from Hampden Sidney College at the age 
of eighteen, with the degree of A. B. The next five 
years he devoted to teaching, beginning as instructor 
in Latin and mathematics at the Fincastle (\ irginia) 
High School, and afterward becoming principal of a 
public grammar school near Walton, Boone County, 
Kentucky, of the Oakland Institute near Pembroke, 
Christian County, Kentuck\-, and of the Charlotte 
County High School at Charlotte Court House, \'ir- 
ginia. When he had saved the amount of money 
needed in this way, he entered the University of Vir- 
ginia in 1880, and graduated in 1882 with the degree 
of B. L. In the same year he completed the business 
course at Eastman College, Poughkeepsie, New York. 
With tills excellent business and professional train- 
ing, Mr. Gaines began the practice of law in Chi- 
cago, associating himself for that purpose first with 
Thomas Cratty and afterwards witli Colonel George 
L. Paddock and Owen F. Aldis, of the firm of Pad- 
dock & Aldis. Little more than a year had passed 
however, when he was offered a position as a teacher 
in the Banking Department of Eastman Business 
College ; and this he decided to accept, feeling that the 
work there would be peculiarly congenial. After act- 
ing as an instructor for a year, he became, in Novem- 
ber, 1884, the president of the college. It speaks well 
for his ability and energy that the reputation of this 
school has been fully mainained under his leadership. 
So successful was he, indeed, in the management of 
the older school, that he established, in 1892, the New 
York Business Institute in the City of New York, and 
has since continued to conduct botii institutions. The 
new school, which was opened December 12, i8q2, at 
81 East 125th Street, (now removed to 119 West 
125th Street) grew so rapidly that increased accommo- 
dations soon became necessary : and more than 350 
pupils are now in daily attendance, with an enrollment 
of about 600 a year. The Poughkeepsie school re- 
cently had on its membership roll pupils from thirty- 
eight different states and territories and seventeen 
foreign countries. 

In addition to the care of his two schools, Mr. 
Gaines is actively and effectively interested in "every- 
thing that has any good in it," to borrow his own 
phrase. Church work, the Young Men's Christian 
Association, social problems, politics (in a broad sense) 
— in short, all the live, practical questions of the day, 
""receive a share of his attention. He organized and 
was first president of the New York State Association 
of registered business schools, the first Building and 
Loan Association in Poughkeepsie, and has been for 



many years a member of the executive committee of 
the Board of Trade here. He is a also a member of 
the Harlem Board of Commerce, and was for years 
in the Poughkeepsie Board of Education. He is also 
a member of the Syllabus Committee and Chairman 
of the Commercial Education Committee of the State 
Association of Academic Principals. He delivers fre- 
quent addresses and essays on special occasions. He 
has edited a book entitled "Simplified Phonetic Short- 
hand," founded on the Pitman system, and is the 
author of the works on accounts and arithmetic used 
as a text-book in his own and other schools. He has 
been elected to membership in many organizations, 
among which may be mentioned the University, Am- 
rita, Dutchess, Golf and Country Clubs, of Poughkeep- 
sie, the Reform Club and Southern Society of New 
York, the Sons of the American Revolution, the 
American Society of Christian Philosophy, and the 
American Institute of Civics. 

Ji'ho's Jriio in America, (1904-5) contains the fol- 
lowing synopsis of Mr. Gaines' career: 

President of Eastman Business College ; born 
March 15, 1857; was graduated from Hampden-Sid- 
ney College, 1875, and University of Virginia, 1882; 
taught school in Fincastle, Virginia, in 1875-6, and 
near Walton, Kentuck\-, in 1876-7; at Pembroke, Ken- 
tucky, in 1877-8; at Charlotte C. H., \'irginia, in 
1879-80; practiced law in Chicago, 1882-83; married 
October 29th, 1884, Mrs. M. M. Eastman ; president 
of Eastman Business College since 1884; established 
the New York Business Institute in 1892, and has car- 
ried on the same since. (A list of organizations, same 
as those above follows.) 

STEPHEN G. GUERNSEY. 

Stephen Gano Guernsey, lawyer and president of 
the Poughkeepsie Trust Company, was born in Stan- 
ford, Dutchess County, April 22, 1848, son of Stephen 
Gano Guernsey and Lienor (Rogers) Guernsey, of 
that place. He was educated in the common schools 
and at Fort Edward Institute. In 1870 he came to 
Poughkeepsie and read law in the offices of Judge 
Charles Wheaton. and also with his brother. Judge 
Daniel W. Guernsey, being admitted to the bar in 
1872. In 1876 he commenced the practice of law here, 
and has so continued up the present time. In politics 
he is a Democrat, but has never held public office ex- 
cept as School Commissioner from 1890 to 1894, and 
as U. S. Loan Commissioner for a number of years. 
He was elected president of the Poughkeepsie National 
Bank in 1892, and of the Poughkee])ie Trust Company 
in looi, which position he now holds. 

Mr. Guernsey was married April 18, 1877, to Miss 
Marianna Hicks, of Poughkeepsie, and has four chil- 
dren, Raymond G., Homer W., Louis G. and Eme- 
line. 

MARTIN HEERMANCE. 

(See page 240.) 

Martin Hcermance, lawyer, was bom in St. Joseph 

County, Michigan, December 17, 1852, but can justly 

claim an ancestry in Dutchess County dating back to 



2S4 



BIOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX. 



almost the first settk'tiK'nt. Tin- first of liis family to 
come from 1 lolland to .America was Jan Heermance. 
who arrived in New York in 1651). and his descendants 
settled in Dutchess County. Hendricus Heermance be- 
mg married to a daughter of Gerrit Artsen, who was 
one of the men who made the first purchase of land 
fniiii the Indians at Rhinebeck in 1686, and who in 
17H1 purchased from his father-in-law what is now 
known as Ellerslie, the j^roperty of Levi V. Morton, 
former vice-president of the United States. 

Martin Heerniance"s great-j^randfather, Jacob 
Heermance, a jjrandson of Jan, married a daughter 
of Jan \ osburgh, and one of his eight children, Martin 
Heermance. married a daughter of Dr. Hans Kiersted. 
a direct descendant of the Dr. Hans Kiersted. who, in 
1642. married Sarah Roeloffe Jans, daughter of .\neke 
Jans, from whom Trinity Church. New York City, re- 
ceived its now enormously wealthv endowment. Mar- 
tin was a leading citizen of the county and a Brigadier- 
General in the War of 1812. His son. the father of 
our subject, was the Rev. Harrison Heermance, of the 
Dutch Reformed Church. He was settled in Lenawee 
County, Michigan, but resigned his ])ulpit and served 
as chajjlain of the Fourth Michigan Cavalry and then 
of the 128th X. Y. Volunteers. At the close of the 
war he settled in Rhinebeck, his native town, and died 
there in 1883. Martin Heermance was, therefore, 
reared in this county, and was educated at the De- 
Garnio Classical Institute. In 1881 he was elected 
Supervisor of Rliinebeck. and re-elected in 1882. In 
iS,-?3 he was admitted to the bar and began practice in 
l'(nighkee])sie. lie was elected District Attorney in 
1888. and in 1896 was appointed one of the three State 
.Assessors of New York by Governor Morton. By 
his colleagues he was elected chairman of the board. 
He recently served two terms as President of Vassar 
lirothers Institute, and for a number of years has 
been regarded as one of the leading lawyers of the 
Dutchess County bar. He is a member of the Holland 
Society, and was Master of Rhinebeck Lodge. F. and 
A. M., for two consecutive terms. For two years he 
was president of the Social Reading Club, of I'ough- 
keepsie. 

Mr. Ileermance was married in 1881 to Miss Xina 
Radclifl'e. daughter of the late David \an Ness Rad- 
clitYe, of .Albany, and has one son. Radcliffe Heer- 
mance. who was recently graduated from Williams 
College. Mrs. Heermance died in March. 1905. 

DR. JA.Ml'.S il( )\'\\ 

Daniii James lloyt. .M . I)., tin- Mumgesl jibysician 
now practicing in 1 'oughktepsii', and yet one of the 
most successful, his abilil\- both as a physician and 
surgeon having well satisfied and retained the large 
c'ientage established by the late Dr. Walter R. Case, 
whom he succeeded in 1902. was born at Galwav. 
Saratoga County, N. Y., January 2(). 1872. He was 
educated at the Rochester high school, and at Prof. 
Kdick's ])rivate academv of the same j^lace. Thence 
he went to Princeton L^niversity for one year, and 
I'nion I'niversity for three years, graduating as .A. 11 
from the latter in the class of 1899. After a course 



at the .Mbany Medical College, during which time Dr. 
.A. \ ander A eer was his jireceptor, he attended the 
medical department of the University of \'ermont for 
one year, and graduated therefrom as .M. D.. in 1902. 
He also took four years" reatling in the Chautauqua 
Literary and Scientific Circle of Chautauqua, N. Y. 
.\fter tile fleath of Dr. Case in 1902, Dr. Hoyt took up 
his practice in the office thus made vacant, and prac- 
tically succeeded him. Dr. Hoyt is a member of the 
Phi Clii Medical Society of Burlington. \'t.. the Phi 
Delta Theta Fraternit\. .\lumni .\ssociation of Sche- 
nectady, and the Dutchess County Medical Society, the 
Presbyterian Church, and Fallkill Lodge. I. O. O. F. 
On June 17. 1903. he was united in marriage with 
Aliss Ida S. Mitchell, daughter of S. S. Mitchell, of 
-Albany. N. Y.. and resided first at the corner of Mill 
and Washington Streets, but afterwards luoved to 
Cannon Street. 

GEORGK INNIS. 
(For portrait, see page 187.) 

George Innis, man of affairs of Poughkeepsie and 
thrice mayor, was born in this city June 7. 1822. and 
died November 25. 1903. He was the son of Aaron 
and Martha (Smith) Innis, who came here from 
Orange and Lester Counties. N. Y. Mr. Innis was 
educated and prepared for Columbia College ;it the 
Poughkeepsie Collegiate Institute, on College Hill, hut 
his father dying in October. 1838. he abandoneil the 
idea of entering college and took charge of the d\e 
woods business his father had established, and which 
under his management flourished until 1898. when the 
dye woods industry was forced to give way to aniline 
dyes. Mr. Innis was president of the Fallkill I'ank 
for sixteen years: a trustee of the Poughkeepsie Sav- 
ings Bank and a member of its executive committee for 
many years: a director in the Farmers and Manufac- 
turers Bank for several years: a director of the Na- 
tional Park liank. of New York City, for a long jier- 
iod. He was a trustee and a member of the executive 
committee of A'assar College for sixteen years, and 
was one- of the first ten men to subscribe capital to 
start the First National liank of .New A'ork City. Po- 
litically, and as a publie-s])irited citizen. .Mi-. Innis was 
exceedingly active and popular. 

Everv ]jublic imjirovement has depended upon him 
to take a leading part in advocating and in pushing it 
to success. He was the first ])resident of the Pough- 
keepsie and Eastern Railroad, one of the executive 
committee of the Poughkeepsie IVidge Comiiany, and 
an otTicer or director in nearly every organization which 
had for its object the benefit of Poughkeepsie and its 
peojile. A'ery few men in the whole history of the 
city have done more for its welfare or contributed 
more for its ])rosperity. 

.\ staunch Re]^ublicaii, he was chostn |>resident of 
the village in the middle fifties and elected mayor of 
the city in 1863. To this office he was re-elected in 
1864 and again in 1866. He is known as the patriotic 
mayor of the Civil War iHiiod. When the first re- 
cruits were ready to niovi'. he furnished $30,000 of his 
<nvn money to equi]) tluni, trusting for re-imbursement 



BIOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX. 



285 



which came in time. When $50,000 had to be raised 
to buy the ground and other necessaries for the Hud- 
son River Hospital for the Insane (in order to secure 
that State institution for Dutchess County), he per- 
sonally borrowed it from John Jacob Astor. the 2d. 
and became responsible for the loan until the amount 
had been fully subscribed. Many other notable and 
patriotic acts distinguish Mr. Innis as one of the best 
mayors Poughkeepsie ever h;i(l. In 1868 he was one 
of the Republican presidential electors in the first can- 
didacy of General Grant. 

Mr. Innis married, in 1855, Miss Anne Hevier lias- 
brouck, of New Paltz. I'lster County, X. Y. Their 
daughter Martha is now the wife of William H. 
Young, a prominent New York city lawyer ; and their 
son, Hasbrouck Innis, is one of the |)oiiular young men 
of Poughkeepsie. Mr. Innis, with his family, have 
resided in the old mansion which occupies the high 
ground on the south side of Main above Water Street, 
since he purchased the propertv in 1857. It is prob- 
ably the oldest residence now occupied in the city. 
Mr. Innis was the oldest ex-mayor of Poughkeepsie 
for some time before his death, and the only ex-presi- 
dent of the village living. 

HON. JOHN H. KETCHAM. 
( Sec page 193.) 
Hon. John H. Ketcham, many times already men- 
tioned in this history, a native of the County of Dutch- 
ess, N. Y., was born December 21st, 1832, in Dover. 
He is a scion of one of the oldest and most distin- 
guished families in Eastern New York, being the sec- 
ond son and child of John M. and Eliza A. Ketcham, 
of Dover. His education was received in part at Suf- 
field. Conn., and in part at Worcester, Alass., from 
whence he graduated in 183 1. At the conclusion of 
his studies, he returned to his native town and formed 
a partnership with his elder brother, William S., in 
farming and conflucting an extensive marble business, 
which they successfully continued scxcral years. Dur- 
ing this period, he was called upon to represent his 
township on the Roard of Supervisors, and was elected 
to the Assembly of the State for two years, and after- 
wards went to the State Senate, where he most worthi- 
ly re])resented his constituents. In 1861 Mr. Ketcham 
was appointed h\ Governor Morgan, of New York, a 
member of the \\i\r Committee of Dutchess and Co- 
lumbia Counties, and was commissioned to raise a reg- 
iment, which he did with alacrity and which was com- 
posed of picked men representing for the most part the 
best and most intelligent families of Dutchess County. 
His regiment, the 130th New York, ]iroceeded first to 
P>altimore. Md.. and afterward participated in the bat- 
tle of Gettysburg, where it suffered severely. After 
recruiting its depleted ranks. Colonel Ketcham moved 
his command southwest, joining General vSherman, and 
was with him on his memorable march to the sea. .\t 
.\tlanta, Ga., for meritorious conduct, he was pro- 
moted to the rank of Brigadier-General by brevet, af- 
terward to Brigadier-General, and subsequently to 
Major-General by brevet. While with his command, 
he was nominated for Member of Congress from his 



district and elected. He served eleven consecutive 
terms in that office, being nominated by acclamation on 
each occasion, and was elected, receiving the sup- 
port of the people of his district, irrespective of party, 
his majorities being large and unprecedented. On 
the termination of Iiis twelfth term, he was tendered 
a unanimous renomination, but, owing to impaired 
health, was compelled to decline. He is at the present 
time in Congress and a member of the Committee on 
Military Affairs, Po.st Offices and Post Roads, and has 
always served on the most important committees, gain- 
ing great eminence in the faithful discharge of his 
duties, having the respect and love of his fellow Con- 
gressmen. 

On February 14th, 1838, General John H. Ketcham 
was married to Miss .\ugusta A. Belden, daughter of 
William H. and Sarah Belden, of Amenia, Dutchess 
County, wiio are among the earliest and best families 
of the county. Four ciiildren were born of this mar- 
riage, of whom three are living. General Ketcham is 
a gentleman of generous impulses and warm heart, 
and always ready to do a kind act, and is known and 
recognized as the poor man's friend. He has been 
greatly distinguished for ability, integrity and public 
S])irit and po.ssesses all tho.se admirable qualities of 
character which go to make good citizenship. His 
State has always honored him as one of her best pro- 
ducts, a manly, noble man in all the relations of life, 
and in his remarkable public career he has maintained 
himself with great dignity and propriety, and will 
leave to posterity the memory of a rich inheritance. 

H( )N. FRANCIS G. LANDON. 
( See page 265.) 

Hon. Francis G. Eandon, who so ably represented 
this district in the State Legislature for three years. 
1901-1903, was born in New York citv August 20, 
1839. He was the son of Charles Griswold and Susan 
H. Landon and lineal descendant of Captain David 
Landon, of the Continental .\rniy, and Sir John Lev- 
erett, Go\-ernor of the Colon\- of Massachusetts from 
i'')~3 to \C)~n. lie was educated in the public school.' 
and graduated from Princeton L'niversitv in the class 
of 1881. 

Mr. Landon is a farmer by occupation and pref- 
erence, but has always given much time to National 
Guard matters. Early in life he became a member of 
the famous Seventh Regiment, of New York, was its 
adjutant for four years, and became Captain of Com- 
pany I in 1893. In i88<). in compan\- with an asso- 
ciate officer, he went to England to represent the Sev- 
enth and the National Guards of the State, and re- 
mained active in his regiment imtil his resignation in 
1902, at which date he received full and honorable dis- 
chargre from the service. 

He came to Dutchess County, to his farm at 
Staatsburg, in i8()3, and was nominated by the Re- 
publican party in 1900 as Member of the Assembly. 
Being elected, he commenced his legislative career in 
January, 1901, and that year served on the Public 
Education, Military and State Prison committees. Re- 
elected in 1901, he served on the Taxation and Re- 



286 



lOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX. 



trencliment. Puhlii.- Institutions and \'illages commit- 
tees in igo2. Again elected in iyo2 he was chairman 
of the Committee on Pubhc Education and member 
of the \\'ays and Means and Canal committees in 1903. 
In 1904 he was appointed third secretary of legation 
at Berlin, Germany, and soon after reaching his post 
was transferred to \ienna. Austria as second secre- 
tary. 

Air. Landon. however, was not the first of his fam- 
ily to serve the true interests of this county. His great- 
grand uncle, Jonathan Landon. represented Dutchess 
in the first Provincial Congress of the State of New 
York, which convened in New York City in 1775. and 
was also its representative in the Third and Fourth 
Congresses. During the Revolutionary War he was a 
major in the Sixth Regiment. Dutchess County Militia. 

Mr. Landon is a member of the American Geo- 
graphical Society, the Metropolitan. Princeton. New 
York Athletic, New York Yacht and Racquet Clubs, 
and the Episcopal Church. He was married May 20, 
1897, to Miss Mary Hornor Toel, and has two daugh- 
ters, Adelaide and Eleanor. 

DR. CHARLES EDWARD LANE. 
(See page 257.) 

Charles Edward Lane, M. D.. president of the 
Board of Aldermen, and prominent physician and 
surgeon of Poughkeepsic, was born at Clove, Dutchess 
County. August 16, 1855. son of Edward Lane a whale 
fisherman, and who was afterwards a well-known pilot, 
captain and boat owner on the Hudson River, running 
at one time a very large schooner to Troy, N. Y.. and 
Jane A. (Hall) Lane, daughter of Gilbert and Mary 
Hall, of Dutch descent. The Lanes are one of the 
oldest families in Dutchess County, the doctor's great- 
grandfather. Jacob Lane, having resided here prior to 
the breaking out of the Revolutionary War. His 
grandfather. John G. Lane, was born in Beekman. now 
Union Vale, May 22, 1776, where his father, Edward. 
was also born. 

In 1863 Edward Lane sold his schooner and bought 
a farm in Seneca County, N. Y.. but Dr. Lane was 
brought u]i at Clove, making his home with bis uncle 
and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph I\I. Cutler, the latter 
l)eing his mother's sister. He continued attending the 
district schools until sixteen years of age. when he 
entered Wesleyan Academy, at Wilbraham. Mass. 
He did not graduate, however, his uncle's serious ill- 
ness calling liim home, and upon his uncle's death in 
1876, he became the owner of the old homestead, sacred 
to the memory of his mother and grandparents. 

.•\fter taking a course at Eastman I'usiness Col- 
lege in this city, he married Miss TTattie A. Yoemans, 
of Clove, I\Iarch 28. 1877, and in 1880 entered the 
New York Homeopathic Medical College. He grad- 
uated therefrom in 1883. and practiced medicine at 
Clove for five years, removing in 1888 to Poughkeep- 
sic. where he has attained a wide, influential and lu- 
crative practice. He was secretary of the board of 
examining surgeons of the V. S. Pension Bureau from 
1889 to 1894. is a member of the Dutchess County 
Medical Society, the New York State TTomeoi)athic 



Medical Society, the American Institute of Homeo- 
]iathy. Triune Lodge, F. and A. AL, Poughkeepsic 
Chapter. R. A. M., Poughkeepsic Commandery, K. 
T.. Mecca Temple of the Mystic Shrine. Poughkeepsic 
Council, R. A., Fallkill Lodge. L O. O. F., the Su- 
]3reme Lodge, I. O. G. T., and other social societies. 
He was formerly a member of the Christian Church 
at Clove, but is now a member of the Second Refonned 
Church of this city. Dr. Lane was elected president 
of the Board of Aldermen in 1897, and has ably served 
as such ever since then. 



FRANK B. LOWN. 
(See page 226.) 
Frank B. Lown was born at the village of Red 
Hook, in Dutchess County, N. Y., on the first clav of 
January. 1849. He is the son of David and Jane M. 
Lown. and with his parents removed to the City of 
Poughkeepsic in 1857, where he has since resided. Mr. 
Lown was educated in the public schools of Pough- 
keepsic, and in 1871 entered the law ofifice of Nelson 
& Baker as a law student. After being admitted to 
the bar. he became a clerk in the office of Thompson 
& Weeks, then the oldest firm of practitioners in the 
county. In 1878 the firm of Thompson, Weeks & 
Lown was formed, and upon the death of James PL 
Weeks in 1887 and of John Thompson in 1891, he be- 
came the sole survivor. He is still engaged in the 
practice of his profession in the City of Poughkeepsic. 

THE STC)RE OF LUCKEY, PLATT & CO.. 
(See page 256.) 

The business now conducted by Luckcy. Piatt & 
Co.. was established in 1835 bv Crandle & Smitii. then 
in a small store at 254 Main Street. They were suc- 
ceeded by Dibble & Slee. then by R. Slee & Co.. who 
moved in i860 to 328 Main Street, and in 1866 the 
firm name was changed to Luckey, \'ail & Mandeville. 
In 1869 the firm of Luckey & Piatt was first an- 
n<xmccd. Three years later Mr. S. L. DeGarmo was 
admitted to the firm and the name of Luckey, Piatt & 
Co.. has been a familiar one to the people ever since. 
The growth of this store has been one of the most not- 
able features of successful business enterprise in Pough- 
keepsic. In 1874 the business was confinecl to one 
small single store of one floor only. From that time 
on the history of this store shows constant growth and 
developnieut until at the present time in their new. 
lu.xurious (|uarters the Luckey, Piatt & Co. establish- 
ment occu])ies seven full stores, four stories high. 
From 1874 to 1903 there was a change from a floor 
area of 1.280 feet to a magnificently ecpiipjied modern 
store with twenty-three departments, over a mile and 
three-quarters of counters and shelves and about 60.- 
000 sijuare feet of floor space. 

Here may be found very large and varied lines of 
Dry Goods, and all accessories, the largest car|)ct de- 
partment in this part of the State, a fully e(|uipped 
furnilm-c store, complete in itself, drapery and u])bob 
sler\- de]);irlnient. millinery ;md boys' clothing depart- 
ments, waiting rooms, three elevators and all UKuk'ni 



BIOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX. 



287 



cunvciiiciiccs. One of the secrets of the healthy 
growth of this store may be found in the underlying 
current of honest dealing and right business principles 
running all through the house. It is by far the largest 
and most modern store in the city, as well as in this 
part of the State, and offers the people of Poughkeep- 
sie and surrounding country exceptional opportunities 
for satisfactor\- trading every business day in the 
year. 



GEORGE W. LUMB. 

( See page 258.) 

George W. Lumb, leading manufacturer and presi- 
dent of the Board of Public Works, was born in 
Yorkshire, England, September i6th, 1837, and when 
about two years of age was brought to Poughkeepsie 
by his parents, Thomas and Elizabeth (Beaumont) 
Lumb. The father in 1839 was employed in the car- 
pet factory of C. M. and G. P. Pelton, but later opened 
a grocery store which he conducted until about two 
years before his death. He was a member of the 
Congregational Church, and in politics was first a 
Whig, later a Republican. 

( )ur subject, after attending the grammar schools, 
was employed in the carpet factory for a while, and 
then learned the sash and blind trade with William 
C, Beardsley, afterwards being foreman for John C. 
Price. In 1863 he entered the United States Navy, 
making three trips to Aspinwall on the "Grand Gulf," 
and was in the blockading squadron at Galveston. 
The vessel later acted as flagship at New Orleans, in 
which city Mr. Lumb received an honorable discharge. 
On his return to Poughkeepsie, he and his brother, 
Levi Lumb, started a sash and blind factory at the 
corner of Dutchess Avenue and Water Street, which 
for two years was operated h\ horse power. They 
then removed to the present factory and admitted 
William T. Swart, the firm being known as Swart, 
Lumb and Brother. This partnership continued until 
1885, when Mr. Lumb bought out his brother's interest, 
and his son Charles L. became a member of the firm, 
which assumed the name of Swart, Lumb and Son. 
Two years later, however, Mr. Swart sold out and the 
name was changed to George W. Lumb and Son. 
Thev do an extensive business and well deserve the 
liberal patronage which is accorded them. In 1892 
Mr. Lumb purchased the old Vassar House property 
and erected another four-story brick building which 
has been occupied by various industries. 

Mr. Lumb is connected with several of the leading 
industries, and is also one of the largest real estate 
owners in the city. 

Mr. Lumb married Sarah \\'. Dean, a native of 
Taunton, Mass. Mrs. Lumb is a descendant, on the 
maternal side, of Governor Bradford, second Gover- 
nor of Massachusetts Colony. Four children have 
been born to them. Charles Levi, Jessie I'.radford, 
George Julian and Maud Dean. 

In his political principles Mr. Lumb is an un- 
swerving Republican, devoted to the best interests of 
his nartv. He was Commissioner of Public Works and 



for a number uf years has been president of the Board 
of Public Works. 

Socially he is a member of the F. and .\. M. 
Lodge No. 266, and in religious faith is a Congrega- 
tionalist. 

Charles L. Luml), the eldest son, is a native of 
Poughkeepsie, where he secured his education, being a 
graduate of the High School and Eastman Business 
College, receiving his diploma from the latter in 1880. 
On October 2nd, 1889, in Poughkeepsie, he was united 
in marriage with Minnie Elizabeth Lovejoy, daughter 
of J. Fred and Mary E. Lovejoy, the former being a 
descendant of Parent Waldron, one of the original 
patentees of New Harlem. They have a daughter, 
Ethel Dean, born July nth, 1893, and son, Charles 
Lovejoy, born November 30th, 1898. 

Charles Lumb is also a real estate owner, is an 
Episcopalian, holding membership with the Holy Com- 
forter Church. Socially he affiliates with the F. and 
A. M. Triune Lodge, No. 782, Poughkeepsie Chapter, 
Poughkeej^sie Commandery, Poughkeepsie Council, 
Knights of Malta, Mystic Shrine, and Royal Arcanum, 
is a prominent member of the Amrita Club and New 
England Society. In politics he is a staunch Republi- 
can. In 1895 and 1896 he held the position of presi- 
dent of the last Board of Water Commissioners. 

George J. Lunib. the second son, is a graduate of 
both the High School and Eastman Business College, 
and is bookkeeper of the firm of George W. Lumb and 
Son. Is also a real estate owner, a member of sev- 
eral clubs of the city and treasurer of Poughkeepsie 
Club. During the late Spanish-.A.merican war, he en- 
listed in the Third ^^oluntecr Signal Corps, of Brook- 
lyn, and served as Sergeant seven months in Cuba. 
In politics he is a Repu1)lican, and in religion an 
Episcopalian, member of Holy Comforter Church. 



JOHN E. MACK. 

John E. Mack, lawyer and justice of the peace, was 
born at Poughkeepsie June 10, 1874. He was edu- 
cated in the town schools, St. Mary's parochial school 
and the Poughkeepsie High School. He then read 
law in the offices of Hackett & \Mlliams and .Allison 
Butts. He was admitted to the bar in January, 1896. 
In politics he is a staunch Democrat. He was 
elected a justice of the peace of the Town of 
Poughkeepsie in November, 1899, a position 
he ably fills. So impartially did he administer the 
duties of his office during his first term, that in the 
fall of 1903 the Republicans unanimously endorsed his 
nomination for re-election for the ensuing four years' 
term. Mr. Mack has an original way of dealing with 
intoxicated offenders which has worked very success- 
fully. He requests them to sign a pledge promising 
to abstain from the use of liquor. The pledge contains 
a clause in which the offender petitions the justice to 
commit him to jail for six months as an habitual drunk- 
ard if he is again convicted of intoxication. Upon his 
discharge he is admonished by Justice Mack that the 
jietition will be granted if the offender is again con- 
victed before him. Judge Mack's pledge has become 



2iS8 



BIOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX. 



faniDiis, as well as havinof resulted in a wholesome 
10 fun 11 among- that class of law breakers. Mr. Mack 

has siiccceilcd in building' u]) a lucratixr law practice 




JOHN K. M.-\CK. 

and is a pninilar niembcr of the bar. lie is also a 
member of ihc Kni.<,dits of Columbus and St. Mary's 
Catholic Church, lie was united in marriage on Oc- 
tober 25. 1899. to Miss Wilhelmina B.. daughter of 
Theodore and Marv Immekus, of Poughkeepsie. They 
have two children, .Margaret M.aiid Inlm. 



I)U. J. MAkll.l.. 

Jiia(|uin .\larill. .\1. I)., hih- nf the most ])opular 
physicians of l'inighkee])sie, was born in Havana, 
Cuba, December 21, 1841 : the son of Spanish parents 
engaged in the sugar industry in that island. He 
graduated from the University of Havana in i860 ancl 
went to Paris, France, to study medicine. In July, 
1861, he went to Piiiladelphia, and in October of that 
year joined the 137th Regiment. Pennsylvania Volun- 
teers as surgeon. He was taken prisoner at the Sec- 
ond j'attle of Hull Run and c<5nfined in Libby Prison 
until he was exchanged in Sei)tcml)er, 1864. Return- 
ing to duty he was assigned to Sickleboro 1 lospital at 
.\lcxandria. \'a.. and remained there until his discharge 
in July. 1865. He then went back to Cuba, and ])rior 
to the reliellion joined the Sl)anish Army as surgeon, 
and remained in active duty as such from 1866 to 1870. 
In tliat year he returned to the United States and be- 
gan the practice of medicine and surgery at Highland. 
I Istcr County. .\'. ^'. He removed to i'ouglikeepsie in 
1874, where he has been in continual i)ractice ever 



since, excepting a period of eight months when com- 
modore-surgeon of the Alexandria fleet during the yel- 
low fever epidemic in \'era Cruz in 1886. Dr. Marill 
was united in marriage in 1874 to Miss Amanda, 
daughter of Louis Caire, of Poughkeepsie. He is an 
active meiuber of the Knights of Pythias and other 
fraternities, and is a staunch Republican, though by 
no means a politician. 

THOMAS McWHINNIE. 
(See page 209.) 
Thomas McWhinnie, the proprietor of the import- 
ant Poughkeepsie industry known all over the world 
as the McWhinnie W'iieelbarrow Works, enjovs the 
distinction of having conducted one business under 
one naiue without any change or partners for a longer 
period than any other man in Poughkeepsie, being 
now in the thirty-seventh year of his career as a manu- 
facturer of wheelbarrows for all purposes — canal or 
railroad, garden, coal, stone, ore, brick and other 
wheelbarrows, both wood and steel. He has an es- 
tablished trade in all parts of the world. He is a self- 
made man in the broadest sense, and a native of 
Poughkeepsie, born here, March 20, 1842, the son 
of Jaiues and Euphemia (Hall) McWliimiie. His 
father worked at his trade as a weaver in this city for 
thirty-three years. He was a sturdy Scotchman from 
Glasgow ; his father, Thoiuas, was also a weaver, but 
a native of Edinburgh. The latter"s brother John 
was keeper of Edinburgh Castle where the Scottish 
Regalia are kept. Mr. McWhinnie attended the 
Poughkeepsie schools until between twelve and thirteen 
years of age, and then started to work in the cotton 
mills at Wappingers Falls for two dollars a week. 
There he remained less than a year, when he returned 
to this city and worked in a bakery for his board and 
twenty-five dollars a year, receiving an advance of 
five dollars the second year and five dollars additional 
the third year. In the spring of 1858 he began to learn 
the tinner's trade, but gave that up in 1859, and started 
in the Chichester Chair factory, a part of which p'ant 
adjoins his present works in South Water Street. He 
afterwanls worked four years, and was a partner for 
one year, in a chair manufacturing concern in Xew 
York City. In iS^w lu- startrd the McWhinnie W'iieel- 
barrow Works ill .\'(irtli Water Street, and in 1883 
erected his jiresent extensive |)lant in South Water 
Street. His progressive energy and natural ability is 
shown bv his production of the celebrated wheelbar- 
rows known as the "Dutchess liolted Canal" and 
"Dutchess Bolted Garden Wheelbarrows." and his 
business qualities by the continuous prosperity of the 
industry he has established with no other aid than his 
own intelligent, honest work and Scottish pluck. In 
]iolitics Mr. McWhimiie is a Reiniblican, and very \mi\>- 
ular with the i)eople. lie has been elected to pu1)lic 
office several times in his life, serving three years as 
.Mderman of the Secontl Ward and six years as a Su- 
pervisor of the Third Ward. He is a member and 
trustee of the Congregational Church, and has been a 
Free Mason since 1864. Mr. McWhinnie was united 
in marriage June I, 1871, tn .Miss l'"annie Whitewell, 
dausihter of Thnmas and Mar\- Whitewell, who came 



BIOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX. 



289 



lierc from Peterborough, England, settled down in 
I'oughkeepsie for a number of years, and then moved 
on a farm at East Park, N. Y.' Three children have 
been born to Mr. and Mrs. McWhinnie, of whom two 
are living, Mary E., wife of Frank Brooks, and 
Fannie J. One son, Roy A., died in his thirteenth 
year. 

HON. JOSEPH MOKSCH.\USER. 
( See page 246.) 
Hon. Joseph Morschauser, City Judge of Pough- 
keepsie. was born at Hyde Park, N. ^■., March 30, 
1863. He attended the district school of his native 
place and finished his education under the private tu- 
torship of Miss Helen W. Everett, of I'oughkeepsie. 
He then studied law in the office of Judges D. W. 
Guernsey and Charles W'heaton, and was admitted 
to the bar in September, 1884. .Although one of a 
family of sixteen children, he rejoices in being the 
only Re])ublican among them, and is a stalwart of that 
party. He was elected justice of the peace in 1886, 
and re-elected in 1890, serving eight years as such, 
was civil service commissioner under Mayor Rowley, 
and in 1898 was elected Recorder of Poughkeepsie. 
In March, 1903, the new law was adopted by which 
the office of recortler and justice of the peace were 
merged into one functionary known as city judge, and 
Recorder Morschauser was appointed to the position 
by Mayor Hine. The new cmirt has given much sat- 
isfaction to the bar and the general public. Judge 
Morschauser is devoted to his profession, and as a 
lawyer as well as a judge he is one of the most popular 
members of the bar. In his private practice he has 
specially earned the esteem of the laboring classes by 
the able service rendered to the several trade unions 
who have employed him as their atlorne}'. .As a 
judge he is quick to distinguish an honest worker in 
search of employment from the professional tramp, 
and no unfortunate but honest laborer has ever been 
harshly dealt with by him. His decisions are prompt 
and terse, but singularly correct and just. Judge 
Morschauser is a member of several societies, but takes 
his best enjoyment in domestic life. He was married 
Ianiiar\- 27, 1889, to Miss Katherine W'., daughter of 
the late Joseph Bauer, of Pnuglikeei)sie. They have 
one son, Joseph C. H. Alorschauser. 

GEORGE X.AGEXG.AST. 
( See page 261.) 

George Nagengast, the efficient and pn|iular chief 
of the Poughkeepsie Fire Department, w as l)i)rn in this 
citv June 10, 1852, the son of Charles Xagengast, who 
came from Bavaria in 1840 and who for many years 
was foreman for the blasting furnaces here. 

Mr. Nagengast leameil the cigar making trade 
and remained in that calling until early in 1881, when 
he embarked in the meat business for a short time. 
He then returned to his trade, but in October of the 
same year he began life as a hotel keeper in what is 
now known as the Hudsou River House. He con- 
ducted this place near!}' seven years, when he pur- 
chased Mrs. Kunkel's store at 435 Main Street, where 



he remained over five years, and then purchased his 
present place. 403 Main Street. He has been very 
successful in business and in real estate investments, 
and is now the owner of a number of valuable proper- 
ties in Poughkeepsie. lie is a ]iublic spirited citizen, 
and one ever ready and foremost to promote the real 
welfare and prosperitv of his native city. Republican 
in politics and at times a hard worker in the ranks 
of his party, he has never sought nor accepted office, 
but has always devoted all his spare time to the inter- 
ests of the fire department. He joined the Niagara 
Company when only eighteen years of age, and the ( ). 
H. Booth Hose four years later. He returned to his 
old company in 1882, and has been its treasurer for 
manv vears. He has been the chief of the department 
since 1901, and is now rounding out his thirty-third 
vear of continuous active service as a fire-fighter — a 
record for both work and achievement not equalled by 
any other citizen of Poughkeepsie, nor probably of 
any other city in the country. 

Mr. Nagengast was married November 2, 1878, to 
Aliss Caroline L. Swartout, daughter of William and 
Adeline (Martin) Swartout. 

HON. WILLIAM NELSON. 
(See page 93.) 

lion. William Nelson (born June 29th, 1784, died 
October 2, 1869), was one of the thirteen children of 
Thomas Nelson and Sarah (Wright) Nelson, all of 
whom were born in what is now the town of Hyde 
Park. The first member of this branch of the Nelson 
family to settle in Dutchess County was Francis, son 
of John and Hendrickje (Van der Miet) Nelson, 
about 1740, and grandfather of Thomas Nelson, who 
served in the Revolution, and became probably before 
the Revolution a resident of Poughkeepsie. Thomas 
Nelson is several times mentioned in Chapter V of this 
history as a village trustee and as the editor of the 
Political Barometer. He was president of the village 
in 1804. His son, William Nelson, the subject of this 
sketch, was educated at the Dutchess County Academy, 
studied law in the office of Theron Rudd, who was af- 
terwards clerk of the District Court of the United 
States. He formed the acquaintance of all of the dis- 
tinguished group of lawyers then practicing their pro- 
fession in Poughkeepsie, including Smith Thompson, 
General James Tallmadge. Jr., Thomas J. Oakley, Gil- 
bert Livingston, James Eniott, Sr., Nathaniel P. Tall- 
madge. James Hooker and .Alexander Forbus. He 
was admitted to the bar in 1807, his diploma being 
signed bv William Kent. 

After completing his studies Mr. Nelson went to 
Buffalo on horse back and intended to settle at that 
place, but chance led him afterwards to Peekskill, 
where he remained, and soon became known as "the 
honest Dutch lawyer." He readily acquired a large 
practice and a wide reinitation. In 181 5 he was ap- 
pointed district attorney for the district then composed 
of the counties of Westchester, Putnam and Rockland, 
which office he held for thirty-two years, the longest 
record for continuous service, though after 1818 the 
district comprised only the county of Westchester. In 



290 



lOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX. 



1819 lio was elected to the Assemble, and in 1823 to 
tile State Senate, where he served for three terms. In 
1848 he was elected to Congress, and continued to rep- 
resent his district until 1851, after which he was one 
of the Judges of the Court of Appeals. He was an 
old time Whig, a personal friend of Henry Clay, Dan- 
iel Webster and Abraham Lincoln. He was one of the 
first Masons in Peekskill, and was universally esteemed 
in that organization. 

Mr. Xelson married Cornelia Mandeville Hard- 
man, daughter of John Hardman, of New York City. 
She died in Peekskill in 1869. Their sons now (1903) 
living are Joseph, a lawyer of Milwaukee, Wis., George 
P. and Thomas, both lawyers in New York ; daughters, 
Sarah A., widow of J. Henry Ferris, a lawyer of 
Peekskill, Elizabeth, widow of Rev. John Johnson, of 
Upper Red Hook, and Cornelia Mandeville, widow of 
John Peter Nelson, of Poughkeepsie. The last men- 
tioned is the active president of the Board of Lady 
Managers of the Gallaudet Home for Deaf Mutes. 
She resides at the old Nelson mansion, at Cannon and 
Liberty Streets, in which her late husband was born, 
and which has been in the family since before the 
Revolution. 

DR. STEPHEN PALMER. 

Stephen Palmer, D. D. S.. was born in Coxsackie, 
N. "S'.. August 25. 1867. He was educated at the 




Dr. .STKPHEN 1'.\LMKR. 

I'nion Free School of that i)lacc, and graduated from 
the Ft. Edward Collegiate Institute in 18X8. lie then 
took his full course at the New Work College of Den- 



tistry, from which he received his degree in 1890. Com- 
ing t(i Poughkeepsie he at once commenced the prac- 
tice of his profession and has gained a large clientele 
among discriminating people who recognize talent and 
appreciate scientific work. In politics Dr. Palmer is 
a Republican, but he is not a politician in the general 
sense of the term, although he has served the Third 
\\'ard as Alderman. The time not required by the 
demands of his profession is spent almost entirely in 
religious and philanthropic work, the doctor being a 
member of the Congregational Church and of the 
Young Glen's Christian Association. He is a director 
of the Rescue Mission. He holds honored membership 
in the New York State Dental Society, and also in the 
Second District Dental Society, of which he is the 
Dutchess County rei)resentative of the Law Committee. 
Dr. Palmer was married November 14, 1894, to Miss 
Addie E., daughter of the late George H. Stanton, of 
Madison county. N. Y., and has two children, Alletta 
Beatrice and Waldo Emerson Palmer. 

DR. E. H. PARKER. 
(See page 207.) 

Edward Hazen Parker, M. D., born in Boston, 
Mass., in 1823. and died in Poughkeepsie November 
10, 1896, was a very prominent pliysician and surgeon 
in this city for thirty-eight years, having been trustee 
and visiting surgeon of St. Barnabas Hospital from 
1870 to its close in 1887, surgeon of Vassar Brothers 
Hospital from its opening in 1887 to his death in 
1896, president of the latter's medical board for eight 
\ears. and noted for his skillful practice among a large 
private clientele. Dr. Parker graduated from Dart- 
mouth College in 1846, and from the Jeflferson Medi- 
cal College in 1848. He was lecturer on anatomy and 
physiology at liowdoin Medical College in 1849, re- 
ceived the degree of A. M. from Trinity College in 
1854, was editor Nciv Hainpsbin- Medical Journal 1848 
to 1857, was called to the chair of Physiology and 
Pathology of the New York Medical College in 1853, 
established the AVic York lifcdical Journal in 1854, 
and edited it many years, was in private practice in 
New ^'ork City with Dr. Fordyce Baker from 1853 to 
1838. was president of the New York Medical Society 
in 1862, was volunteer surgeon in the field in 1862 and 
1863, leaving a fine practice he had established here in 
1858 to give his eminent services to the Union army, 
and was a leading physician, surgeon and ]iathologist 
in Poughkeej)sie from 1864 to 1896. His first wife 
was Miss Sarah Hcydock, who died in 1880, leaving 
three daughters and one son. Dr. Harry Parker. In 
1883 he was married to Miss Jeannie C. Wright, of 
Poughkeepsie. bv whom he has had one son. 

1 le was refined, cultivated, suave, very liberal and 
s\-mpathetic, and is remembered as a poet as well as a 
])hysician and medical writer. .\ verse of one of his 
poems reads : 

"Life's race well run ; 
Life's work all clone ; 
Life's victory won ; 
Now Cometh rest." 



BIOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX. 



291 



This verse was translated by a friend into Latin he- 
cause of its euphonious rhythm in that lanjjuase. The 
translation was picked up by an English editor, trans- 
lated back into English and published anonymously. 
It now appears engraven on President Garfield's tomb 
erroncouslv credited to "an imknown English author." 
The poem was written by Dr. Parker in the early part 
of 1879. 

DR. A. H. PECKHAM. 

Alva Lawrence Peckham M. D., secretary and 
treasurer of the Dutchess County Homeopathic Medi- 
cal Society and a leading physician and surgeon of that 
school of medicine in Poughkeepsie, was born at Sche- 
nectady, N. Y., November 25, 1874. He graduated 
as P). S. from L^nion College in 1896, and received the 
degree of A. IVL therefrom in 1899. He took the 
full course at Hahnemann College, of Philadelphia, 
and graduated therefrom in 1899. He then .served 
three months at the Philadelphia Lying-in Charity LIos- 
pital and received a diploma from that institution. In 
his collegiate career he took special honors in biology 
at LTnion, was chief executive officer Chi Psi fraternity 
in L^nited States in 1897; was editor-in-chief of the 
Centennial Garnet at LInion, and a member of the 
.\lpha Zcta fraternity in the LInion Classical Institute. 
He has built up a lucrative practice since making 
Poughkeepsie his home. He has licen visiting physi- 
cian to the City Home since April, 1902; is chairman 
of the scientific section of \'assar Brothers Institute ; 
an officer in Triune Lodge. F. and .\. ]\I., and Pough- 
keepsie Chapter, R. A. M. ; a member and trustee of 
the First Congregational Church ; member of the L'ni- 
versity Club : member of the New England Society of 
Dutchess County ; member of the Homeopathic Medi- 
cal Society of New York State, and secretary and 
treasurer of the Dutchess County Homeopathic Medi- 
cal Society. Dr. Peckham was imited in marriage 
June 15th, 1899, to Miss Mary, daughter of Prof. 
Charles S. Halsey, who for twent\'-two years was the 
principal of the Union Classical Institute at Schenec- 
tady, N. Y. They have one child, a daughter, whom 
they have named Elizabeth. 

DR. J. WILSON POUCHER. 

J. Wilson Poucher. M. D., widely known in this 
section of the State as an eminently successful surgeon 
and gynecologist of Poughkeepsie, was born at Clav- 
erack, Columbia County, N. Y., July 24, 1859, a de- 
scendant of a Huguenot family that came to America 
in 1(358 and settled near Albany. IMelancthon Smith, 
one of the most active spirits in the Constitutional 
Convention that met at Poughkeepsie in 1788 (de- 
scribed in Chaper IV"), was a brother of one of Dr. 
Poucher's great-great-grandfathers. Lie perpetuates 
their memorv by holding membership in the Society of 
the Cincinnati, the Holland Society, the Society of Co- 
lonial ^^'ars and the Sons of the Revolution. 

Dr. Poucher received his early education in the 
public schools of his native place, and graduated from 
Claverack College in 1879. He taught school for one 



year and then entered the medical dei)artment of 
Union University, from which he graduated in 18S3. 
1 le practiced medicine for two years at Modena, Ulster 
County, and then went to Europe to prosecute the 
studies of surgery and gynecology in Berlin, Vienna 
and Paris. Returning in 1887 he commenced practice 
in Poughkeepsie, and has established a reputation and 
a lucrative patronage second to none other in this 
section of the State. 

At the breaking out of the Spanish War in 
1898 Dr. Poucher offered his services to the gov- 
ernment and was commissioned lieutenant and as- 
sistant surgeon of the 201st Regiment, New York 
Volunteers, in June, 1898. He was detached from the 
regiment in July and given charge of the division hos- 
pital at Camp IMack. Long Island, when an outbreak 
of typhoid fever was imminent. In addition to his 
medical duties he was obliged to act as property officer, 
commissary of subsistence, and in fact assume respon- 
sibility for every department. Unsuccessful in get- 
ting a transfer to his regiment, he resigned his com- 
mission in October. 

Dr. Poucher is a consulting surgeon on the staflf 
of Vassar Brothers Hospital, and an active spirit in 
both the State and County Medical Societies. He is a 
fellow of the American Association of Obstetricians 
and Gynecologists. He is an enthusiastic athlete and 
a popular member of the Dutchess County Golf and 
Country Club, also of the L^nivcrsity Club of Pough- 
keepsie, the Amrita Club, and the Dutchess Club. In 
politics he is a Republican — has been alderman of the 
Fifth \\'ard, and for the past eight years a member of 
the Board of Public Works of the city. He is a 
thirty-second degree Mason, a prominent member of 
Triune Lodge, Poughkeepsie Chapter, and a Past Com- 
mander of Poughkeepsie Commandery, the Mystic 
Shrine, and the Ancient and Accepted Scottisli Rite 
of New York. He married in 1892 Miss Catharine D. 
LeFevre, daughter of the former member of Congress, 
the late Jacob LeFevre, a descendant of .\ndreas Le- 
Fevre, one of the Patentees of New Paltz. 

POUGHKEEPSIE GLASS WORKS. 
(See illustration page 114.) 

The Poughkeepsie Glass W'orks, located at the foot 
of Dutchess Avenue, in the City of Poughkeepsie, was 
started for the purpose of utilizing iron slag in the 
manufacture of glass. Bashley Britten, an English- 
man, had obtained Letters Patent in England and in 
the ITnited States which were controlled by Sir Sam- 
uel Canning, who had been knighted for his great ser- 
vices as an engineer in connection with the laying of 
the first successful .\tlantic cable, and Dr. Edward 
Bishop, of London, England. 

Several gentlemen from Clxde and Rochester, New 
York, purchased a controlling interest in the American 
Patent, organized a corporation, called the Anglo- 
.Vmerican Glass Company, and in July, 1879, purchased 
from the Farmers and RIanufacturers National Bank, 
that part of the Whale Dock property lying at the 
foot of Hoffman Street, which had been used for a 
cooperage and various other purposes, but which was 



292 



BIOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX. 



then unoccupied. Utilizing some brick buildings on 
the property, a factory was constructed for nianufac- 
turing hollow glass ware, intending to use the molten 
scoria or slag "from the adjacent blast furnace The 
use of this slag as an ingredient in the manufacture of 
glass not proving a success it was abandoned. 

The first successful continuous tank for the manu- 
facture of glass ever constructed in the United States 
was erected and the making of glass commenced in 
March. 1880. December i. 1881, the factory was 
nearly destroyed bv fire, and a large quantity of ware 
was lost. The tank, however, was not materially in- 
jured, and in one month the buildings were rebuilt and 
work was resumed. Later another tank was added 
and the works enlarged. In April, 1897, the factories 
and most of the storage buildings were destroyed by 
fire and a large amount of ware was ruined. 

The company then bought the lot lying between the 
original purchase on Dutchess Avenue, also a large 
vacant lot on the south side of Dutchess .\venue, and 
constructed the present iron and brick buildings, which 
are regarded as models for glass works. There are 
three tanks which can run continuously day and night, 
and the output has increased from about 30.000 gross 
to about 130,000 gross per annum. 

The product consists of prescription and druggists' 
ware, beers, sodas, minerals, wines, brandies, fiasks. 
proprietary medicine goods, milk jars, packers and pre- 
servers" ware. During the busy part of the year, 
which is generally from September i to July i, about 
350 hands are employed, many of them skilled work- 
men who receive very large wages. 

The corporation, the Poughkeepsie Glass Works, 
was organized November, 1880. Before that time the 
busines's had been conducted as a partnership, but un- 
der the same name. Mr. Charles W. Reed had ac- 
tive charge of the construction and early operation of 
the works until his health failed. The first Board of 
Trustees consisted of William C. Ely, Charles W. 
Reed, Charles D. Ely, George (). Baker and George 
II. Hoyt. of Clyde, Henry C. Wisner, of Rochester, 
and Evan R. Williams, of Poughkeepsie. The officers 
were William C. Ely, President: Henry C. Wi.sner. 
Vice-President : George ( ). I'.aker. Secretary, and Evan 
R. W^illiams, Treasurer and Superintendent. William 
C. Ely was President until liis death in SejilemlHT. 
1886, -and was succeeded by Charles D. Ely, who held 
the office until he died May, 1903. The 1903 direc- 
tors are Ilenrv C. Wisner. George (">. T'>aker. Charles 
P. P.uckley, Robert Good. George II. lloyt, William G. 
I'.aker and George K. Diller. M. C. Wisner is Presi- 
dent: Charles P. P.uckley, Vice-President; George O. 
Baker, Secretary and .Attorney : William G. Baker, 
Treasurer and Superintendent. Mr. Robert Good is 
General P'actory ^Ianager. 

THE POl'GHKI'.l'.PSli': S.W'I.VGS BANK. 

The Poughkeepsie Savings Bank was organized in 
1831, the charter members being William Davies, Mat- 
thew Vassar. Jr.. Griffin Williamson, James Emott. 
Thomas W. Tallmadge, Sle[)hen .Vrmstrong, Nehe- 



miah Conklin, Frederick Barnard, Teunis \^an Kleeck, 
James Hooker, Henry A. Livingston. 

The bank was not opened for business until May 
4th, 1833. when it commenced in the office of Mr. 
Raymond, its treasurer, in what was known as the 
"I'.urritt House," Xo. 273 Main Street. 

In 1853 it removed to Market Street, where it has 
ever since been located. In 1871, the present commod- 
ious building was erected at a cost of about one hun- 
dred thousand dollars. 

Colonel Henry A. Livingston, of Revolutionary 
fame, was the first president. He was succeeded by 
Thomas \V. Tallmadge, who retained the position until 
his death .-Vugust iith, 1856. His successors have 
been John B. Forbus, 1856 to 1865, Henry D. \'arick. 
1866 to 1877, David C. Foster, 1877 to 1903. In Jan- 
uary, i<)03, Mr. Foster was succeeded by Edward Els- 
worth. 

In i8C_K). thirty-six years after the bank opened for 
business, its deposits amounted to $1.~<)\.2^6. and its 
total resources were $1,936,445. In 1899, thirty years 
later, its deposits had increased to $8,6(j2,929.28, and 
its total resources, based on the par value of its securi- 
ties, were $c),394,4 16.84. On the first day of January, 
1905, its deposits were $10,593,944.65, and its total 
resources, based on the par value of its securities, were 
$11,428,268,42. 

THE POUGHKEEPSIE TRUST COMPANY. 
( See page 106.) 

The P(iuglikee])sie Trust Company, one of tiie 
leading financial institutions of the City of Poughkeep- 
sie. N. v.. was organized September ifith. 1901. 

The City National I'.ank and the Poughkeejisie Na- 
tional Bank were consolidated prior to the organization 
of the Poughkeepsie Trust Company. The business 
of said banks was actpiired by and merged in said 
Trust Conijiany. which conducts its business in the 
old banking building formerly occupied by the Pough- 
kee])sie Nation.al P.ank. which is shown on i)agc 106. 

The Poughkeepsie and City National Banks were 
butli did and strong financial institutions. The Bank 
n\ Poughkeepsie was organized in 1830. Thomas L. 
Davies was its fir.st president, .\fter the passing of 
the National Bank Law in 18(15. it became the I'nugh- 
keepsie National Bank. 

The City P.ank was organized in i860. Judge Joseph 
F. I'.arnard being its first president. In 1865, the 
City P.ank was merged into the City National Bank. 
In 1879 Hudson T.iyldr was elected its president, and 
continued in office mitil its consolidation with the 
Poughkeei)sie National I'.ank. 

The following are the |)resent officers and trustees 
of the Poughkeeiisie Trust Company: President. 
Stephen G. Guernsey : Xice-Presidents. Hudson Tay- 
lor. Charles W. Pilgrim: Treasurer. Tliomas W. Bar- 
rett: Secretary and Counsel. C. W. 11. .\rnold. Trus- 
tees. Hudson Tavlor. Samuel K. Rupley. J. W. Ilink- 
lev. Ir.. Frank |." Lefevre. R. II. Hunter. I'.enjamin P. 
Wriv-ie. losepli Morschauser. .\. G. Tobev, George 
\i. lline' ^a:ir W. Sberrill, T. W. i'.arrett. C. W. 
H. Arnold, .\dn;i I', lleaton. |. Wilson Poucher, 



BIOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX. 



293 



J. L. Williams, E. T. Hulst,. S. G. Guernsey, Andrew 
C. Zabriskie, Cecil E. Parker, William H. Frank, P. H. 
Troy, Charles \V. Pilfrrim, Hudson L. Taylor. 

The Poughkeepsie Trust Company is authorized to 
transact a general banking business and to act as ex- 
ecutor or administrator of estates, and as guardian, re- 
ceiver, registrar, transfer and financial agent for 
States, cities, towns, railroads and other corporations, 
and to accept any other trusts in conformity with the 
laws of any State or of the United States. It is a legal 
depository for State, city and court funds. It also 
has a savings department. The company is under the 
supervision of the Banking Department of the State 
of New York. The success of the company has dem- 
onstrated the need and usefulness of such an institu- 
tion in this city. 

POUGHKEEPSIE UNDERWE.\R CO. 
( See page 236. ) 

The Poughkeepsie Underwear Company was m- 
corporated under the laws of New York in September, 
1899, with authorized capital of $80,000; and com- 
menced business January i, 1900. Mr. Robert J. 
Stuart is president, Mr. F. .\. Conklin vice-president, 
and Mr. Frank Manser secretary and treasurer. 
Messrs. Samuel G. Rowles, .Arthur Manser and Henry 
T. Lumb. together with the officers, comprise the 
board of directors. 

This comi)anv manufactures ladies" and children's 
undergarments, known to the trade as "yueen Under- 
nuislins," and their goods are now sold all over the 
United States, and shipments have been made as far 
away as .Kustralia. Fine quality of material and work- 
manship, combined with progressive and up-to-date 
management have each vear fully doubled the trade, 
this year's business ( kjg^ ) exceeding $250,000. Since 
their start, the company have never shut down except 
about ten days each August for renovating and re- 
pairs, and now employ one hundred and fifty hands, 
with a pay-roll of about $1,000 per week. The begin- 
ning was in the Edward Storm building on Mill 
Street, but in T()02 the companv purchased the Taylor 
property on Xorth Cherry Street, and after relniilding 
and equi])ping the same started their new plant in De- 
cember of that year. Their building covers 50 by 150 
feet of ground, is substantially constructed of brick, 
three stories in height, well lighted, ventilated and 
heated. The machinery is operated bv electric power 
furnished b\- the Poughkeepsie Light, Heat and Power 
Comjiany. 

WILLI. \M THACHER REYNOLDS. 
( See page 211.) 
William Thacher Reynolds, senior member of the 
firm of W. T. Reynolds & Com])any, was born in 
Poughkeepsie December 20, 1838: he was educated 
here, and began his business career in the emplov of 
his father, familiarizing himself, step by step, with each 
phase of the wholesale flour and grain trade. In i860 
he became a member of the finn of Reynolds & Com- 
pany, in partnership with his father. William W. Ke\- 
nolds, and his uncle, James Reynolds, Jr. 



James Reynolds, grandfather of William Thacher 
Reynolds, born in Rhode Island April 7. 1777, in the 
fourth generation of descent from James Reynolds, the 
first of the name and one of the earliest citizens of 
the Xarragansett country, was the son of William 
Reynolds, ensign in a Rhode Island Regiment in the 
Revolutionary war. Through one of his grandmoth- 
ers. Elizabeth Greene, wife of Francis Reynolds, he 
was cousin to General Nathaniel Greene. The sur- 
name "Reynolds," meaning "son of Reginald" or 
"Reynold." originated with the introduction into Eng- 
land by the .Vormans of the font name "Revnauld" or 
"Renaud." 

James Reynolds came to Poughkeepsie ab(jut 1800 
and soon entered into partnership with .Aaron Innis in 
the operation of a line of i^acket sloops, running from 
what was known as the "Upper Landing" to New 
York. In 181 1 two sloops, the "Mary" and the 
"Driver," left for New York on alternate weeks, car- 
rying freight and passengers ; they were replaced in 
1816 by the "Huntress" and "Counsellor," and they 
still later, by the barges "Clinton" and "Republic." 
Reynolds and Innis, in 1818, gave notice in the col- 
umns of the PoHglikccpsic Journal "to the Farmers and 
.Merchants of Dutchess County that the subscribers 
have taken the mill lately occupied by Martin Hoffman 
and Co., and tender their services to the customers of 
that firm in the milling business." About 1820, James 
Reynolds added a general store which, with the mill, 
were natural outgrowths and feeders of the transporta- 
tion line. 

The location of the Upper Landing, at the point 
where the Fall Kill empties into the ilud.son, was a 
l)articularly desirable one under the business conditions 
of that tla\-; before 1800 Robert L. Livingston had a 
store and mill there, and the hill since known as Rey- 
nolds' Hill, on which the east end of the Poughkeep.sie 
Iiridge rests, was called "Slange Klip"; the mouth of 
the Fall Kill, on a map dated 1799. was marked "Pond- 
akrien," presumably in reference to the ca.scade which 
turned the mill and which an old deed calls "Pendan- 
ick Reen." 

James Reynolds was a Friend, and never interested 
himself in ])ublic affairs, but one of the historians of 
Dutchess County wrote: "Messrs. Reynolds and In- 
nis were the most jjrominent and reliable business men 
of their period, not only in the city, but in th,.> entire 
county. They were men of strict integrity, and their 
character and standing as business men have not been 
surpassefl here to the present day." 

The two .sons of James Reynolds, ^\'il!iam W. and 
James Reynolds, Jr.. succeeded their father about 
1840. as W. W. and J. Reynolds, and later developed 
the wholesale flour and grain branch of the business. 
The l'"rie Canal was then of much more importance 
than the railroads as a carrier of western produce, and 
.\lbany was the great distributing point for this part 
of the country ; W. W. & J. Reynolds had special 
agents in Albany who bought western produce for 
them and shipped it by their own line of sloops to 
Poughkeepsie. For several years there were three 
sloops in this line; but the business continued to in- 
crease until sailing vessels became too slow, and in 



294 



BIOGRAPHICAL APPEND I X. 



1S54 the firm had the steam propeller "Reliance" huilt 
i)y Henry Finch at his ship-yard at the \\'hale Dock; 
she was run between Poughkeepsie and Albany twice 
a week for freight and passengers, initil i86i. wher 
she was sold to the L'nited States to be used as a trans- 
port. 

In 1849 the warehouse at the Upper Landing was 
built, and the business conducted there until 1871. In- 
creased railroad facilities and through freight lines 
had then changed the methods of transacting business. 
and a location where freight could be received by rail 
was necessary, which led to the erection of the present 
warehouse opposite the passenger station of the New- 
York Central and Hudson River Railroad, in 1872. 

At the death of James Reynolds. Jr., in 1865, the 
firm became Reynolds & Son; in 1869, when John R. 
Reynolds, son of James Reynolds. Jr.. entered it, W. 
W. Reynolds & Co. ; in 1874, at the addition of George 
E. Cramer, Reynolds & Co.; in 1889, at the death of 
John R. Reynolds, Reynolds & Cramer; and in 1899, 
when George E. Cramer died, W. T. Reynolds & Co. 

William \V. Reynolds married a daughter of the 
Rev. William Thacher. a descendant of Hon. John 
Thacher. of Yarmouth. Mass. The latter served with 
distinction in King Philip's war, 1675, '^''"J was for 
many years a member of the Governor's Council. Their 
son, William Thacher Reynolds, the subject of this 
sketch, is President of the Board of Trustees of the 
Washington Street Methodist Church ; President of the 
\assar Brothers Home for Aged Men ; trustee of the 
( )ld Ladies' Home, of Vassar Brothers Hospital, of 
the Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery, and director of the 
Fallkill National Bank, and of the Poughkeepsie Sav- 
ings r)ank. He married July 6, 1864, Miss Louise 
Smith, and has two children, Harris Smith Reynolds, 
a graduate of Yale, and a member of the firm of W. 
T. Reynolds & Co.. and INIay Louise Reynolds. 

RI\'ER\'1EW MILITARY ACADEMY. 
(See page 256.) 

Riverview Military Academy, under the name of 
the Poughkeepsie Collegiate School, was organized 
and established in 1836, on College Hill, by Charles 
iiartlett. In 1857 Mr. Bartlett was succeeded by Otis 
ISisbee, who introduced, in 1862, military instruction 
and erected, in 1866, new buildings at Riverview. In 
1867 the entire school marched in a body from College 
Hill to these new buildings, delightfully situated on 
high ground overlof)king the Hudson River, and yet 
only a short walk from the centre of the town. The 
school provides every modern improvement and con- 
venience. It thoroughly prepares its pupils — about 
175 — for college or business life amidst pleasant and 
healthful surroundings. There are ten resident in- 
structors and an armv officer, specially detailed by the 
Secretary of War. The school is a family school. 
The ]irincipal and his family reside in the main l)uild- 
ing, and each student comes into daily contact with 
them. 

Otis Bisbee, to whom the school owes its present 
character, was born at Chesterfield, Mass., February 
14, 1822. He was a descendant of the "Pjesbidge" 
family who settled in Plymouth, Mass., in 1734. He 



left Union College in 1849 to become a teacher in the 
Collegiate School, but was elected a member of the 
Phi Beta Kap|)a society in 1 85 1. Upon Mr. Bartlett's 
death Mr. Bisliee, in partnership with Mr. Charles 1>. 
Warring, took the direction of the school. The change 
in the character and location of the school has been 
already noted. In 1850 ^Ir. Bisbee married Frances 
C, daughter of Joseph Barlett, and had two daughters 
and one son. Major Joseph B. Bisbee, the present head 
of the school. Mr. Otis Bisbee died at Poughkeepsie 
February 12th, 1885. 

Joseph Bartlett Bisbee, A. M., principal and pro- 
prietor of Riverview Military Academy, was born in 
Poughkeepsie December 15, 1853. He was prepared 
for college under his father's own instruction, and en- 
tered Amherst College in 1876. In 1879 he returned 
to assist his father. In 1884, however, Amherst Col- 
lege, recognizing his work and ability, conferred upon 
him the degree of Master of Arts. Since his father's 
death he has conducted the school in accordance with 
the principles that first, under his father, gave it emi- 
nence, so that to-day it ranks among the foremost pre- 
paratory schools of the country. 

Major Bisbee was married in 1880 to Miss Sarah 
M. Pangborn, of Albany, N. Y. She died in March, 
1884. Mr. Bisbee married in December, 1885, Miss 
Winifred Dana Wheeler, daughter of the late Francis 
I!. Wheeler. D. D., pastor of the First Presbyterian 
Church in Poughkeepsie for thirty-seven years. Mr. 
Bisbee is a member of the Masonic fraternity and an 
elder in the First Presbyterian Church. 

DR. J. F.. SADLIER. 

James Edgar Sadlier. M. D., President of the 
Dutchess County Medical Society, and one of the most 
])rominent physicians and surgeons of Poughkeepsie 
at this time, was born at Walden, Orange County, N. 
^'.. March 18, 1865. the son of the late James Sadlier, 
fur many years a leading merchant of New York City, 
and highly esteemed citizen of Walden. Dr. Sadlier 
received a thorough education in the public schools of 
his native village, and in tlu- academies (if Montgom- 
ery and New Paltz, N. Y. 

His uncle. Dr. William Woodrufif, an eminent 
physician of Pine Bush, then became his preceptor and 
gave him practical, as well as theoretical training in 
the medical profession until 1884, when he entered the 
Medical Department of Union College at .Mbany. He 
graduated therefrom in 1887. and was immediately a]i- 
pointed to the staff of the Albany Citv lIos]Mtal. in 
which he served with marked ability luitil .April I, 
1S89, when he left to establish a residence and private 
practice for himse'f at Poughkeepsie. Although only 
twenty-four years of age. at that time, his acquired 
knowledge, thorough training and e.\])erience gave him 
at once a high standing in the ])rofession, and he was 
appointed on the staiT of \'as,sar llrothers Hospital in 
iX()i. 1 le enjiiys tc)-da\- a large and lucrative practice. 
hi the medical ])r(ifession he is recognized as a physi- 
cian and surgeon of the highest ability, and he has 
been po]iular with his associates ever since taking up 
his residence in Poughkeei)sie. He was chosen Sec- 
retarv to the Dutchess County Medical S<5ciety in 



BIOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX. 



295 



Januar)^ 1891, and served as such continuously until 
1897, when he resigned because he was elected State 
delegate to the New York State Medical Society for 
the ensuing three years, after which he was duly elected 
member of the New York State Medical Society. He 
was elected President of the Dutchess County Medical 
Society in 1901. Dr. Sadlier is also a member of the 
American Association of Gynaecologists and Obstetri- 
cians. During 1899 he spent a portion of the year 
doing post graduate work at the Medical Department 
of the Johns Hopkins University, at lialtiniore, Md., 
and during 1902 he went abroad for the sake of study- 
ing surgery at the Clinics in Europe. For the last 
several years he has devoted himself more especially 
to that department of work pertaining to surgery, and 
gynaecology. The most of his work of that character 
being performed at his own private hospital in this 
city." 

Dr. Sadlier was married on June 18, 1891, to Miss 
Hattie C. Millspaugh, daughter of Theron L. Mills- 
paugh, of Walden, N. Y. 

ROBERT SANFORD. 
(See page 163.) 
Robert Sanford, retired lawyer of Poughkeepsie, 
was born in Albany, December 10, 183 1, the son of 
Nathan and Mary (Buchanan) Sanford, of Albany; 
the grandson of Dr. Thomas Sanford, who settled at 
I'iridgehampton, Long Island, and the great-grandson 
of Thomas McKean, Chief Justice and Governor of 
Pennsylvania three terms and a signer of the Declara- 
tion of Independence. Miss Mary Buchanan, the 
granddaughter of Justice McKean, and mother of Rob- 
ert Sanford, was married to Nathan Sanford in the 
White House at Washington, President John Ouincy 
,\dams being her nearest living relative, giving away 
the bride. Nathan Sanford was a prominent lawyer. 
United States District Attorney, State Assemblyman, 
State Senator, twice United States Senator, commis- 
sioner for framing the new Constitution and candidate 
for Vice-President with Henry Clay. He was ap- 
pointed Chancellor to succeed James Kent, and he was 
the last speaker of the Assembly who wore a cocked 
hat. He died at Flushing, Long Island, in 1838. 
When nine years old, Robert Sanford commenced at- 
tending school in Hartford, Conn., and remained five 
years. He then spent four years under the tutorship 
of Dr. Muhlenberg, the celebrated instructor at Col- 
lege Point, Long Island, and two years under Dr. 
George H. Houghton, the rector of the famous "Lit- 
tle Church Around the Corner." an astute Greek tutor, 
who one day said to his pupil, "Bob, you are the most 
stupid jackass I ever saw." Robert respected him 
very much, and in years afterward, when he thought 
he was somewhat proficient in the ancient language. 
he wrote the doctor a letter in Greek, but the worthy 
tutor characterized it "as still possessing assinine qual- 
ities." Mr. Sanford, however, pursued his education, 
becoming a student at Kingsley Military Institute at 
West Point, and spending two years at Union College, 
Schenectady, N. Y. He then traveled extensively with 
his mother throughout Europe, and located in Pough- 
keepsie in 1857. Graduating from the New York 



State and National Law School in 1858, he spent two 
years in the law office of Joseph H. Jackson, then 
started on another extended European trip, during 
which he attended a course of lectures at the Sarbonne 
in Paris, and was formally presented to Napoleon III. 
He practiced law in Poughkeepsie from 1862 to 1866, 
and then made his third trip to Europe, and was pre- 
sented to the Queen of England by his cousin, Charles 
Francis Adams, then U. S. Minister to the Court of St. 
James. He returned to Poughkeepsie in 1867, and re- 
tired in 1894 after an active legal career of twenty- 
seven years. Though seventy-two years of age he pos- 
esses a stalwart frame, is of medium height and much 
resembles John Quincy Adams. He is an active ath- 
lete, fond of fresh air, walker and rider. Sanitary 
matters and pure air are his hobbies. His residence 
in the heart of Poughkeepsie, No. 29 North Hamilton 
Street, is surrounded by nearly six acres of lawn and 
beautiful shade trees, with winding walks and the bub- 
bling water of the Fallkill flowing through the grounds. 
He abandoned court practice mainly because he regard- 
ed the court rooms in the old building as unhealthy. 
As school commissioner, 1862 to 1866, he made a rec- 
ord for sanitary improvements which was most ser- 
viceable and important. Pie was interested with 
Henry Bergh in the work of prevention of cruelty to 
animals and was once vice-president of the society. 
He has been a delegate to the convention of the Diocese 
of New York for thirty years ; is a member of the 
Sigma Phi Fraternity; the Aztec Society (a Mexican 
war association) ; the Amrita Club, of Poughkeepsie; 
the Dutchess Hunt Club ; Union League Club, of New- 
York ; American Geographical Society ; Church Club 
of New York ; trustee of the Church of the Holy Com- 
forter of Poughkeepsie, and is connected with several 
social associations. In politics he is a Republican, but 
always declined elective office. Mr. Sanford was mar- 
ried May 23, 1867, to Miss Mary Helen Hooker Stuy- 
vesant, daughter of John R. Stuyvcsant, of Hyde Park, 
and great-granddaughter of Peter Stuyvesant, Colon- 
ial Governor of New York. They have had five chil- 
dren, four of whom are now living: Mary Buchanan, 
Henry Gansevoort, Helen Stuyvesant and Desiree. 
Their son, Stuyvesant, died in 1890, at the age of sev- 
enteen years. 

JACOB SCIIRAUTH AND HIS SONS, EDWARD 
L. AND WILLIAM H. SCHRAUTH. 

Jacob Schrauth, the founder of an extensive ice 
cream an<l confectionery industry of Poughkeepsie, 
was born at Kreuznach, in the Rhine Province, April, 
1834. He learned the trade of a cooper and came to 
America in 1854, learning the baker's trade in New 
York City. He came to Poughkeepsie in 1857. and for 
nine years worked as a baker. In 1866 he established 
business for himself at 153 Main Street, first as a 
baker, but soon adding the manufacture of ice cream 
and confectionery. On May i, 1897, his sons, Edward 
L. and W'illiam H., purchased the business and have 
since conducted it under the firm style of J. Schrauth's 
Sons. 

Mr. Schrauth is Republican in politics, and for two 
vears was a member of the Board of Water Commis- 



296 



lOGRAPH ICAL APPENDIX. 




WILLIAM H. SCHRAUTH 



i:i)\VARI) L. SCHRAUTH. 



JACOB SCHRAUTH. 



sioners. He was for twelve years president of the 
Germania Singins' Society, is a member of the Odd 
Fellows and of the German Lutheran Church. He was 
married in iSfx) to Miss Kate Schneider, a native of 
Bavaria, and has had seven children. 

Edward L. Schrauth was born in this city in 
i86t), and was married September 30, 1903, to Miss 
Georgia \'an W'yck, of Pous;hkeepsie. He is a mem- 
ber of the ( )dd Fellows and Siloam Encampment, the 
I'hoenix Hose Com])any and Royal Arcanum. 

William H. Schrauth was born in 1876, and mar- 
ried in i8y5 to Miss Matilda Seeholtzer, daughter of 
ISerthold Seeholtzer, of Poughkecpsie. He is a mem- 
ber of Fallkill Lodge, T. O. ( ). F., Siloam Encamp- 
ment, Roval .\rcanum and I'onghkeepsie Lodge No. 
266. F. and .\. M. 

Since assuminy' charge of the business here the\' 



have continually enlarged and h;i\e nnw i)uilt up the 
most extensive ice cream indusirx' in this section, their 
trade reaching far beyond the limits of this city. In 
December, 1902, they opened their present retail sales- 
room and ice cream parlors at 141) and 151 Main Street, 
adjoining the old store. It is the handsomest estab- 
lishment of the kind on the i ludson River, and in some 
respects exceeds any other in the country. ( )ur illus- 
tration shows the front of the store, the two sides being 
devoted to a display of fine confectionery and fancy 
cakes, the long circular counter in the centre being 
used for the dispensing of soda and other waters 
from modern as well as beautiful fountains. The ice 
cream ])arlors are in the rear, the manufactory of con- 
fections, ice cream bricks and an endless variety of 
fine cakes being in the basement and also in the rear 
of the parlors. 



KL,^*<^-Af^ ^ 







JiiUi 101 I nil oj Jaiob Schrauth's Sons' he Cicaiii I'ailoii a„u 



B I OG R .i PH I CAL APPENDIX. 



297 



OSCAR NELSON SEAMAN. 

Oscar Nelson Seaman, from whose excellent pho- 
tographs many of the illustrations in this book were 
made, was born in Poughkeepsie March 25th, 1871, 
and is the son of Henry H. and Sarah A. (Colwell) 
Seaman, who have lived in this city since their mar- 
riage at Verbank in 1857. Henry H. Seaman is the 
last survivor of a family of six, of whom Isaac, James 
Harvey and Nelson were the otlier sons, all well- 
known residents of Poughkeepsie. Their father, Sam- 
uel Seaman, came here from Staten Island in 1833, his 
two brothers. Hicks and Stephen, going to the nl-igh- 
borhood of Saratoga at about the same time, the 
family is of English descent, and was settled nn Long 
Island before the Revolution. 

Oscar N. Seaman was educated at the Poughkeep- 
sie Military Institute under Dr. Cliark-s 1!. \Varring. 
and at the Housatonic \'alley Institute at Cornwall, 
Ct. After a thorough apprenticeship of twelve years 
at photography, he began business for himself at 327 
Main Street, and has met with gratifying success. 

In politics Air. Seaman is a Republican, but has 
never sought public office. He is a member of St. 
Paul's Episcopal Church, of Fallkill Lodge, I. O. O. 
F., of Harvey G. Eastman Council, No. q", (incor- 
porated) Junior Order of United American Mechanics, 
and of Young America Hose Company No. 6. He was 
married October 12th, 1892, to Emma C. Cramer, 
daughter of Jerome B. Cramer, of this city, and they 
have one daughter, Ivah Cramer Seaman. 

JOHN SUTCLIFPE. 
(See page 213.) 
John Sutclift'e, consulting, civil and mining engi- 
neer, and mechanical expert in iron works and sew- 
erage, was born at Stainland, near Ifalifa.x, England, 
July 29, 1837, the son of Eli SutclifFe, who settled in 
Poughkeepsie in 1840, and was well known as a gro- 
cer and soap manufacturer. Mr. SutclifFe was edu- 
cated in the local schools of Poughkeepsie, and at the 
Dutchess Countv Academy. In 1861 he became as- 
sistant manager of the Peekskill, N. Y., blast furnace. 
He made plans for a new and improved furnace in 
Cold Spring, N. Y., then erected and started it as the 
Phillips Iron Works. He left this concern and went 
to England to perfect himself in the details of iron 
manufacture, and in 1864 began building new inm 
works at \'erplanck's Point, N. Y., but owing In the 
financial panic they were never finished. In 1865 he 
erected the building at Clover and Union Streets for 
his father and started in the woolen business with his 
uncle. In 1866 he took charge of the Eagle Slate 
Company's Iron Works at Ilydeville. \'t. In 1868 
he went to Wales to make a study of s'ate. and return- 
ing worked up refuse slate into billiard table tojis, en- 
larging the Eagle works for that jjurixise. In 1870 
he remodeled the slate mill at Chapman, Pa. In 1870 
and 1871 he constructed the filter beds for the 
Poughkeepsie Water Works. In i87_'. after a trip 
through iron works in the south and west, he built tlie 
Hudson River Iron Works at Pou,ghkeepsie, now 
known as the Phoenix Horse Shoe Works. In 1873 



he took contracts to build sewers and lay water pipes 
in Poughkeepsie, and successfully managed the Frank- 
lin Iron Works, near Utica, which had two blast fur- 
naces, with iron mines, etc., at the same time building 
the Bellevue Terrace block of brick buildings in Pough- 
keepsie. In 1874 he was called upon to settle up "the 
business of the Pond Eddy Blue Stone Company, in 
Pike County. Pa., in which he displayed much ability 
and arranged all matters satisfactorily. 

He then operated successfully for ten years the 
mines of the Vallecillo Silver Mining Company in 
Mexico. Returning to Poughkeepsie in 1884, he was 
soon appointed general manager of the Steel Company 
of Canada, organized a new compan\- as the London- 
derry Iron Company, and as general manager made it 
a great success in four years' time. He resigned and 
again returned to Poughkeepsie, where he has since 
remained as consulting engineer and constructor of 
sewers, etc. He has had many contracts here, includ- 
ing the wall about the grounds of \assar IBrothers 
Hospital and the dam at the State Hospital, and has 
been a potent factor in the modern upbuilding of the 
city, while he is also frequently called in as an expert 
by the various iron works in this section. In politics 
he is a strong Republican and .served two terms as 
Police Commissioner. Lie is a member of the F. and 
A. M., the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers, Ameri- 
can Institute of Mining Engineers, Franklin Institute 
of Philadelphia, and the Engineers' Club of New York 
City. He is universally esteemed for his personal in- 
tegrity, good judgment and keen business and me- 
chanical ability. He was married July 26, 1876, to 
Miss Sarah E., daughter of William Beekman Swart, 
of Poughkeepsie. They have three sons, Paul, Allen 
and John W. 

ALKKRT T(n\'ER. 
( See page 1 59. ) 

Mr. Albert Tower, one of the best known iron men 
in the L^nited States, was born in Paris, Oneida County, 
New York, November 8, 1817, but commenced his 
career in the iron business in ( )hio, where he accumu- 
lated quite a fortune by the time he was little more 
than thirty years of age. He came to Poughkeepsie 
in 1830, to become superintendent and part owner of 
the Poughkeepsie Iron Works at the foot of Union 
Street, which had been organized by Joseph Tucker- 
man and others in 1848. The present ])lant at the Old 
^^l^ale Dock, foot of Hoffman Street, illustrated 
on page 233, was built in i860, and operated under 
the name of the Fallkill Iron Works, with llou. 
James Emott as president, although the ca])ital nf Imth 
works was very nearly wholly controlled Ijy the same 
])arties. The present Poughkeepsie Iron Company 
was a reorganization March 26, 1875, "fo'' the manu- 
facturing of pig iron and products thereof." Mr. Albert 
Tower being its president and manager, and the two 
plants becoming actually one property. The lower 
furnace, however, was abandoned and the new plant 
enlarged in the early eighties. For several years prior 
to his death, Mr. Tower, owing to ill health, had large- 
ly given up the management of the works and the 



298 



B I O G R A P H / C.I L A P P E A" D I X. 



mines to his two sons, Albert Edward and Joseph T. 
Tower, the first named being now the head of this im- 
portant industry, which not only manufactures pig 
iron, etc., but owns and operates iron mines at Port 
Hcnrv, N. Y., and a hematite mine in Union \"ale, 
N. Y'. 

Mr. Tower was an unassuming but a thoroughly 
upright and Christian gentleman. He was a member 
of the vestry of Christ Church, and to him the congre- 
gation of tiiat church and the City of Poughkeepsie 
are chiefly indebted for its beautiful building, 
his gifts to the church amounting to nearly $80,000. 
"Mr. Tower was married in i860 to Miss Anna M. Un- 
derbill, daughter of Josiah Underbill, of the Pough- 
keepsie Savings Bank. He was the vice-president of 
the Merchants' Bank, and a citizen whose loss was sin- 
cerely mourned by the entire community, lie died in 
this city December 24, 1891, after his return from Den- 
mark, whither he had gone in the previous fall in the 
hope of benefiting his health. 



ROBERT K. TUTHILL, M. D. 
( See page 180.) 

Robert K. TuthiU. M. D., son of Samuel Tuthill, 
M. D., who came to Poughkee]3sie in 1848, and was 
a leading ph\sician here for many years, was born in 
Xewburgh, X. Y. He was trained to follow in the 
footsteps of his father by thorough classical and pre- 
liminary courses, and graduated from the New York 
Medical College in the class of 1859. He commenced 
practice here that year, but responding" to the call of 
his country earh' in 1861, was ajjpointed Assistant 
Surgeon of the 8oth X. Y. \'ols. In .\pril, 1863. he 
was promoted to the post of Regimental Surgeon of 
the 145th N. Y. Infantry, and in June of the same 
year was advanced to lirigade Surgeon of the First 
Brigade (six regiments), First Division, Twelfth 
Army Corps. F'arly in 1864 he was made Surgeon in 
Chief of the First Division (fourteen regiments) of 
the Twelfth .\rmy Corps. He was in all the princi- 
pal battles of the .\rniy of the Potomac, and also did 
duty in the .\rni\- of the Cumberland. By his devo- 
tion to .sanitary regulations, and his general ability as 
a surgeon he made and kept his regiment and brigade 
in such a healthy and efficient condition that he re- 
ceived s])ecial commendation from the War Depart- 
ment therefor. Resuming private practice in Pough- 
keepsie in 1864, Dr. Tuthill soon attained the highest 
eminence in his profession by the same watchful and 
faithful care which won him distinction in the field. 

Dr. Tuthill's hospital service has been extensive 
and notably successful. He had charge of the Frecl- 
ericksburgli Hosjjital in 1862. was member of the 
surgical staff of St. Barnabas Hospital in Poughkeep- 
sie from its organization in 1870 until its close in 1887; 
was one of the surgeons selected by the founders of 
Vassar Brothers' Hospital, on its opening in 188", and 
served until 1898, and has since been a member of its 
consulting staff. He has visited many hospitals and 
attended many clinics in Europe, viz: in London, Paris, 
Berlin and X'ienna, seeking to gain new methods and 
experience for home work. 



In ])olitics Dr. Tuthill is a staunch Republican, but 
ne\er sought or desired public office, and accepted 
none except the position of Health Officer of the city, 
which post he filled for four terms. He was president 
of the Dutchess County Medical Society for two terms, 
has been a member of the Xew York State Medical 
Society since 1880, is also a member of the New York 
Commandery, Loyal Legion of America, and is a char- 
ter member of Hamilton Post, Xo. 20, G. A. R. He 
also affiliates with Masonry, and is a Knight Templar. 
Dr. Ttithill has many friends who believe in him, be- 
cause he has proved himself a true and sincere man 
and a conscientious, faithful and vigilant physician and 
surgeon. 

DR. DAX'ID r.. ^\■Akl). 

David B. Ward, M. D., prominent physician anil 
leading microscopist of Pouglikee])sie, was liorn at 
Pleasant Valley, Dutchess County, N, Y., March 13. 
1853. He prepared for college at the Riverview .Mili- 
tary Academy, spent three years at Dartmouth College, 
and graduated as A. B. from Hamilton College in the 
class of 1873. He commenced the study of medicine 
under the advice and tutorship of the eminent Dr. 
Parker, of Poughkeepsie. and then took the course at 
the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New York 
City, graduating therefrom in the class of 1876. After 
practicing at Wheeling, West Virginia, for tiiree years 
he came to Poughkeepsie, and has acquired a very ex- 
tensive general practice and a wide reputation for 
scientific and microscopic investigation and research. 
He is a Republican, but by no means a politician. He 
was city physician from 1880 to 1888, and has always 
interested himself in furthering every improvement de- 
signed for the benefit and preservation of the general 
health, and has been a member of the Board of Health 
since 1895. He is a member of the Amrita Club and 
Fallkill Lodge, L O. O. F. He is noted for his genial 
spirit, and has a veritable host of jiersonal friends, but 
up to the present time has remained a bachelor. 

HON. CHARLES WHEATOX. 
(See page 177.) 

lion. Charles Wheaton, distinguished lawyer and 
County Judge, of Poughkeepsie, was born in Lithgow, 
Dutchess County, May 21, 1834, and died after a brief 
illness May 11, 1886. His grandfather, Augustus 
Wheaton, came here from Connecticut in 1802, and his 
father. Rev. Homer Wheaton, was rector of Christ 
Church until his death in 1894. Tl^'s maternal grand- 
fatlier, Isaac Smith, was Countv Judge of this county 
and also Member of .Assembly. 

Judge Wheaton graduated from the College of St. 
James, at Hagerstown, Md., and was then a tutor 
there for two years. I le came back to Poughkeepsie 
and studied law with Thompson & Weeks, and on his 
admission to the bar began the practice of law in this 
city. He was Assistant District .Vttorney imder Silas 
Wodell, and was elected County Judge in 1863 to suc- 
ceed Judge Homer i\. Nelson, who had been elected 
to Congress. He was a consistent Democrat, and 
one of the idols of his part\- ; was (loomed to political 



I o c R .\ p II I c.i I. .1 r r lix n I X. 



299 



defeat at the imlls on several occasions. He was the 
Democratic candidate for Congress in 1866, was tlie 
Democratic opponent for U. S. Senator against Roscoe 
Conkling in 1873, and candidate for State Senator in 
1877. He was urged to become candidate for Gover- 
nor in 1879 ^""i l^^'l '''^ done so would doubtless have 
been elected, as his candidature would have healed all 
the differences at that time. He had previously prom- 
ised, however, to support a Dutchess County man for 
State Treasurer and as the county couUl not have two 
persons on the ticket, he remained immovable in his 
fealty to his word. 

Judge Wheaton was marrinl ( )clol)er 26, 1859, to 
jMiss Caroline T. Barculo, tlaughter of the late Su- 
preme Court Justice Seward liarculo, who now resides 
at the \\'heaton home in North Hami'ton Street, and 
possesses the very large and excellent library of stand- 
ard works her literary husband had accumulated, and 
in which he took so nuich pride and comfort. 

HON. J.-VMES L. WILLIAMS. 

James L. Williams, a jirominent lawyer and presi- 
dent of the Poughkeepsie Board of Education, was 
born in Poughkeepsie, December 12th, 1846. He at- 
tended the Dutchess County Academy, and on th.e 
completion of his studies and after reading law was 
admitted to the bar in 1867. He began ]iractice in 
connection with the Hon. Peter Dorland, ex- Surrogate 
of this county : the firm of Dorland and \\'ilHams con- 
tinuing until 1873, when he formed a partnership with 
Hon. John Hackett, afterwards twice District Attorney 
of the county, which partnership still exists and is 
known under the firm title of Hackett & Williams. 
A native of Poughkeepsie, and always a public-spirited 
citizen, Mr. Williams has been more than usually prom- 
inent in political and social, as well as legal circles. 
He was very active in the Democratic party for many 
years, and was the organizer and first president nf 
the Poughkeepsie News Company, publisher of the 
A'civs-Press and Xca's-Tclci^ral^li. both staunch ad- 



VDcates of Democracy in this sectimi. lie was elected 
District .Vttorney in 1872, being the first Democrat 
elected to that office for a period of over twenty-five 
years. He declined a re-nomination. In 1883, with- 
out any solicitation or knowledge on his part, Gover- 
nor Cleveland appointed him State .Assessor, now called 
Stale Tax Commissioner, an office which he filled with 
ability until 18(^3, when he resigned. In 1887 he was 
named with the late ex-Governor R. P. Flower, Gen- 
eral George S. Field, of Buffalo, and Judge Charles F. 
McLean, of New York, as a member of the Executive 
Committee of the Democratic State Committee, and 
was made chairman of the State Executive Committee. 
He was a member of the Democratic State Commit- 
tee in 1888 and i88g. In 1893 he was strongly urged 
as a candidate for Justice of the Supreme Court to suc- 
ceed Judge Barnard, having the support of Dutchess 
and other counties. He continued to be active in the 
councils of his party up to the Chicago convention of 
1896, but then declined to endorse the national platform 
or its candidate, and since that time has been as ag- 
gressive and has become fully as ])opular as a worker 
and advisor in the Republican party as he was in the 
party of his first choice. He was appointed City 
Attorney of Poughkeepsie in 1897, serving under 
Mayor Hull in 1897 and 1898. In 1900 he was nomi- 
nated by President McKinley for Supervisor of the 
Census for the Third District of New York. He has 
been President of the Board of Education since 1900, 
since which time the schools have made great advance- 
nieni. In fraternal circles he has also lieeii a leader, 
hdlding membership in the F. and .\. A!., the I. ( ). O. 
l'\, and K. of P., the Order of Elks, and other societies 
and organizations. He organized and placed firmly 
upon its feet the ( )dd Fellows' i\Iutual lienefit .Associa- 
tion of Dutchess County, now numbering more than 
a thousand members. He is president of the Dutchess 
Club, the leading social organization in Dutchess 
Ciiuuty, having succeeded the Hon. Homer .\. Nelson 
in iSi)i. Mr. Williams is also a member of several 
New \(irk Citv clubs. 



GENERAL APPENDIX 



Lists of Names — The Associators of 1775, the Village Trustees — Manumissions of Sla\-es — 
Militia Officers, 1786-1799 — Ordixaxces Naming Streets. 1S01-1S34 — Clinton Catechism— 
Population Statistics. Etc. 

iThe names here given are not indexed. ; 



LXSCRIPTIONS ON STONES IN OLD DUTCH 

BLRL\L GROUND. 

(Page 24.) 

Following is a list of the names on the stones in 
the Old Dutch Bur^nng Ground in the rear of The 
Nelson House Annex, as they were taken in 1891. 

Albanes SchrxTer, died November jth. 1808, aged 
63 years. 7 months. 

Isaac Fitchett. died October 24, iSii, 86th year of 
age. 

Man." Roberts, widow of Jonathan Roberts, died 
April .25. 1816, aged 33 years. 1 1 months. 27 days. 

Susan, daughter of Daniel Hebard, Esq., and Let- 
tie, his wife, who departed this Ufe January 9th, 1810, 
aged 7 months and 26 da^^s. 

7 ' ^ — vout. who departed this life March 22, 
181: . cars. 4 months. 15 days. 

i_ ;; - - rr Bush, who was bom the 15th day of 

February. 1757. and died the 22d of March, 1792, aged 
35 years, i month and 7 days. 

Abraham Swartwont, Jr., who departed this life 
June the 9th. 1801 . 

T !.., f>uj-v-ee. who departed this life 9th Mav 179? 

:erated» and widow of Peter Hoffman, who 
departed this life — of November 179 — . aged 56 
years. 

In memor\- of Hester, widow of Teunis Tappen. 
Esq., Deed., who departed this life JanuarA- 19. 1812. 
aged 82 years. 11 days. 

Helen Tappen. who departed this life July — , 1800. 
aged 28 years. 1 1 months and 20 days. 

In meinor\- of Jeremiah Smith, a son of William 
Smith, who depaned this life September 22d, 1799. 
aged 2,2, years and 1 1 months. 

.\ddriann. daughter of Minard and Catherine 
•~ ' '— ■ "t. who departed this life Tanuar\- 2. 1807. 

Frear. who departed this life Februar\- 28, 

_ ". 62 years. 2 months. 25 days. 

iiasdalen. wife of Stephen Harris, who departed 

this life December 20. 1802. in the 57th year of her age. 

In memory- of Teunis Tappen. Esq.. who departed 

this life . 1809. aged . 

' ■ -' ^f Catherine, wife of William Williams. 

. of New York, and departed this life 
- e. June 19. 1814, in the 69th year of 
iitr agt. 

Her l>r5ttW harfr "m Hfe's wiW «K*an to«t 

In t-^ ■ - 

Sir. 

Th- 

Tii; - - --:::■..; T-'-rr -i ^;:- 

Her ■ in everlasting peace. 



In memory- of John W. \\illiams, attomej- at law 
of the City of New York, who departed life May i, 
1806, aged 24 years, 4 months, 21 days. 

Behold and see as you pass by 

As you are now so once was i 

As i am now so you must be 

Prepare for deatii and follow me 



SIGNERS OF THE RE\OLUTIONARY PLEDGE 
OF ASSOCIATION. 177:^. IN THE POUGH- 
KEEPSIE PRECINCT. 



William .\nneley, 
Ephriam Adams, 
Geieyn Ackerman, 
Xalhaniel Ashford, 
John Bailey, Jr., 
John Baily, Jr., 
Isaiah Bartly, 
.Andrew Billings, .- 
Hans Bemer, 
John Briener, 
Gideon Boyse, 
Matthew Burnett, 
Thomas Burnett, 
.Abraham Banlay, 
William Burnett, 
Simon Bartley, 
George Brooks. 
Jacob \'. Benschoten, 
Silvanui Beckwith, 
Henry Bliss. 
James Brisby. 
James Brisleen, 
Hendrick Bush, 
Martin Bush, 
Zachariah Burwell, 
Thomas Bout, 
Christian Bush, 
Caleb Carmen, 
Caleb Carmen. Jr.. 
Ezekiah Cooper. 
Ezekiel Cooper, 
Samuel Corey. 
Nathaniel Conklin. 
.Alex. Chaucer. 
Samuel Ccoke. 
John Conkling. 
Matthew Conkling. 
Dorthir Conner. Jr., 
Richard Davis. 
John Davis. 
Samuel Dodge. 
Lewis Dubois. 
Richard V. Denburgh, 
John Dubois. 
Xathaniel Dubois. 
Jer--- "■- -. 
Ja "zh. 

Ml 

Joei l-»:i-".-. 

Da\-id Etatcher, 



(Page 36. J 

Henry Dodge, 
James Elderkin, 
Henry- Ellis, 
Richard Everitt, 
William Forman, 
.Abraham Fort, 
Johannus Fort, 
John Freer, 
Jacobus Freer, 2, 
Simon Free^, 
Elias Freer, 
.Abraham Ferden, 
Jacob Ferris, 
Omar Ferris, 
Sylvanus Greatwaks, 
Ale.xander Grigs, 
Tunis Hannes. 
.Ale.xander Haire, 
Henry- Hoff. 
Carel Hoefman, 
Thomas Holmes, 
Peter Horn, 
Stephen Hendrickson, 
Robert Hoffman, 
Lemuel Howell, 
John C. Hill. 
Henrj- Hegeman. 
Xathaniel Hemsted, 
Thomas Jacockes, 
Francis J ay cock, 
Benjamin Jaycock, 
Jonathan Johnson, 
John Johnson, 
William Jones, 
William Kelley, 
Jones Kelley. 
Johannes Kidney, 
John C. Kingsland. 
Henry- Kip. 
Benoni Kip. 
Isaac Komine. Jr., 
William D. Lawson, 
Peter .Andes Lansing. 
William Lawson, Jr., 
Simon Leroy, 
Simon Leroy. Jr., 
James Lewis, 
Barent Lewis, 
Henry Livingston. Jr., 
James Livingston, 



GEXERAL APPEXDIX. 



301 



Peter Lossing, 
Simon \V. Lossiiig. 
Larrine Lossing. Jr.. 
Peter Low. 2. 
Henr\' Livingston, 
James Luckey. 
Samuel Luckey, 
Jacob Low, 
John Maxtield, 
John Mott, 
Peter Mullin, 
Joshua Moss. 
Cornelius Xoble, 
Robert North, 
Robert Xoa. 
Abraham Pitt. 
Zephaniah Piatt, 
Hendrick Pells, 
Hendrick Pells. Jr.. 
Wilhelmus Ploegh. 
Isaac Poole, 
John Pilgrit. 
Thomas Poole, 
John Romyne, 
John Robinson, 
William Roach, 
Thomas Rowse, 
Aaron Reed, 
Eli Read, 
John Reed, 
Jacobus Roades. 
John C. Ringland. 
James Read. 
George Sands. 
John Saunders. 
William Sawekes. 
John Schenck. Jr., 
Paul Schenck. 
Jacob Schr\-\er. 
George Shanhan. 
Samuel Smith. 
Gonis Storm. 
Richard Snedeker. 
John Seaburj-. Jr.. 
John Seabury, 
Johannes Swartwout. 
Bamardus Swartwout, 
Minnard Swartwout. 
John Swartwout. 
.\braham Swartwout. 
Mathias Sharp. 
Edward SvTnmonds. 
Lodovick Sypher. 
Peter Tappan. 



Xathan Tray, 
William Terry, 
Teunis Tappen, 
John Townsend, 
John Tappen. 
Thomas Travis, 
John Ter Bush, 
E. \. \'an Bunschten, 
J. Van Bunschoten, 
M. Van Keuren, 
.\braham \'an Keuren. 
M>-ndert Van Kleeck, 
Mat. \'an Keuren, Jr., 
Henr>- Van Blercome, 
M. \'an Denbogart. 
Garrit \'an Wagenen, 
Jac. \'an Kleeck. 
John \"an Kleeck. 
Law. \'an Kleeck. 
Pieter Van Kleeck. 
P. B. Van Kleeck. 
L. J. Van Kleeck. 
J. L. \"an Kleeck. 
John T. \"an Kleeck. 
Leonard Van Kleeck, 
S. Van Denburgh. 
Gerrit Van Vliet. 
S. Van \'oorhees. 

E. Van Bunschoten. 
Peter F. \'alleau. 
Peter Van \'liet. 
Frederick Van Miet, 
Peter Van Dewater, 
Cornelius \'ie!e. 

Jac. \"an Den Bogart. 

F. \'an Denbogart. 
John Waterman. 
.\ndrew Wanles. 
.\zariah Winchester, 
Henry Willsie, 
John Willsie. 
Hobert Waddel. 
.\lbo. Water\ell. 
Casparos Westervelt, 
C. R. We5ter\elt. 
Enyanien Wester\-elt, 
Cornelius Wester\elt. 
C- B. Westervelt, 
Richard Wanier. 
.\ndrew \\'eeks, 
William Wilsey. 
James Winans. .^- 
Michael Yerrw 



THOSE WHO REFUSED TO SIGN. 



George Ame. 
Xaihaniel Babcock. 
Ebinezer Badger. 
George Baldwin. 
Isaac Baldwin. 
Isaac Baldwin. Jr.. 
William Barnes, 
Henry Barnes. 
Henr\- Beve.x, 
John"\". D. Bogart. 
John Boman. 
Myndert B\nidirs. 
Joseph Chaddirdon. 
Robert Churchell. 
John C'X>pnian, 
B. Crannell. 
.\ustin Cmd (Creed ?>. 
John De Graff. 
James Douglass. 
Teremiah Dubois, 
Peter DuK->is, Jr., 
Eli Emons. 
John Emons, 



William Emott. 
John Ferdon. 
Zachary Ferdon. 
Jacob Ferdon. 
Esquire Ferdon. 
.\braham Frair. 
.\hraham Frair. Jr., 
Simon Frair. Jr.. 
Thomas Freer. 
Samuel Hull, 
John Hunt. 
James Kelly. 
M>iiden Kidney, 
Jacobus Kidney, 
Robert Kidney. 
Matthew Kipp, 
Peter Laroy. 
Isaac J. Lassing. 
William Lassing, 
James Lasting, 
Felix Lewis. 
Melancthon Lewis, 
John Low, 



William Low, 
Arie Medlar, 
John Miller, 
Hendrick Miller, 
Johalhan Morey, 
B. Xoxen, 
Simon Xo.xen, 
Aaron Olmstead, 
John Palraitear, 
Francis Palmitear. 
Michel Pelts, 
Francis Pelts, 
Evert Pelts, 
Samuel Pinckney, 
Thomas Pinkney, 
Ezekiel Pinkney, 
John Pinkney, 



Jacob Polmatier, 
Eli Read, 

Michael John Rutsen. 
Flemming Stcenburgh, 
Elias Thompsor., 
John Van Deburgh, 
H. J. Van Deburgh, 
Peter Van Deburgh, 
H. Van Denburgh, 
H. Van Denburgh. 
Baltus \'an Kleeck. 
Peter P. \'an Kleeck, 
Xehemiah \'eal. 
Michael Wellding. 
Tunis Williamson, 
James Wood, 
Gail Velverton. 



Jr.. 



In general these names are as given in \ oL HI, 
American Archives, pp. 601-602, but arranged alpha- 
betically for more convenient reference. The repeti- 
tions of the names of .\ndre\v Billings, William For- 
man. Jacobus Freer (one of which is spelled Frear), 
Peter Low, Lewis DuBois. Robert North. John 
Schenck. Jr.. Bemardus Swarwout, Peter Tappen and 
. E. \'an Benschoten have been eliminated. In addition 
to Henr>- Ellis a Henry Eliss. probably a repetition, is 
g^ven in some lists. Herbert Waddell appears in one 
list as \\"oddell and there are other \-ariations in speW- 
ingr. 



NAMES OF PERSONS IN THE PRECINCT OF 

POLGHKEEPSIE WHOSE PERSONAL 

PROPERTY WAS CONFISCATED AND 

SOLD DURING THE RE\'OLUTION, 

IN 1777. 

(See page ^J.) 

Peter John Lassing, 
Johannis A. Lassing. 
Isaac Lassing. 



Joseph Abbott, 
John Anderson, 
John Beardsley, 
Hendrick Brush, 
Matt Bumens. 
Thomas Burnett, 
Christian Bush. 
Martin Bush, 
John Cherry, 
B. Crannell, 
Cornelius DuBois, 
William Ellis, 
Eli Emmons, 
John Emmons. 
.Tacob Ferdon. 
Joseph Haight. 
Samuel Harris. 
Philip Henning. 
Zaccheus Hill. 
William Jaycocks. 
Jonathan Johnsone. 
Johannis Peter Lassing. 
Johannis W. Lassing. 



John Peter William Lassing. 

Peter P. Lassing. 

Lawe Lassing. 

Isaac P. Lassing. 

Henry Lyon. 

John Miller. 

John Mott. 

Jonathan Morey. 

Richard Peters, 

John Prenners, 

Peter Palmatier. 

I Son of Johannis), 
Samuel Pinkney. 
William Rosche. 
Eli Ruscraft, 

Lodowick Sieler (C\-pher?> 
Simetm Steenburgh. 
Fleming Steenburgh. 
Henri- Van Der Burgh. Esq., 
Richard Van Der Burgh. 



LIST OF PERSONS WHO MANUMITTED 

THEIR SLAVES. 

( From the back of Book A of Roads. Town of Pough- 

keepsie. under act of Februan.- 22d. 1788.) 

( See page 63.) 

Egbert Benson. 1790. 
John Frear. 1794. 
Zephaniah Piatt, 1795- 
Giibert Livingston. 
John Mott. 



302 



a n \ B R A L A PPE X n / .v. 



John Willse. 
John Rcade. 
Peter Van Den Burgli 

I'nder Act of 29111 .March, ijfjg, "for the i;ra(hial 
abolition of slavery." 

Thomas Casey, g slaves. 

Francis Pells. 

Jacob K. Duryea. 

Heirs of Myndert Van Klceck. 

Theodorus Bailey. 

John Reade, (set free child horn, the mother to lie free at 
expiration of five years.) 

Benjamin Jaycocks. 

Under Act of 8th Ai^ril. i8oi, entitled. ".Vn .\ct 
concerning- .slaves and servants." 

John X. Bailey. 

Samnel Lnckey. 

James Dearin. 

Tony Fox, a black man. 

Thomas W. Jayco.x. 

Henry Dodge, 1806. 

James Dearin. 1807. 

James Emott. 1807. 

Stephen Hendrickson, iSoS. 

Henry Dodge. 1808. 

Robert L. Reade. (administrator of John Reade), 1809. 

John B. Frear, execntor Colonel John Frear. iSog. 

Francis Pells, 1810. 

Peter Low, 1810. 

James Westervelt. 1810. 

Samnel Mnlford. i8ti. 

Peter Pells, 181 1. 

Zephaniah Pells. 181 1. 

Theron Rndd, 1811. 

W'm. Davis, as execntor of Solomon Sutherland, 1813. 

Ezra Thoinpson, Jun., 1813. 

John Brush, 1813. 

Hendrick Willsie. 1814. 

Nazareth Brewer, 1814. 

John Barnes. 1814. 

Executors of Jane Van Ness, 1815. 

.Abraham Adriancc, 1S15. 

John Nagel. 

Stephen Booth, (of town of Reading, State of ConnecticiU ). 

John Drake, 1816. 

Samuel Pinkney. 

James Emott, Elizabeth Baker, administrators estate of 
Valentine Baker, 1817. 

James Tallmadge. 1817. 

John B. Van Wyck, 1817. 

Benjamin Herrick, 1818. 

George P. Oakley, 1818. 

Executors of William Williams, deceased. 

James Dearin, 1818. 

John Parkinson. 1818, 

Peter Low, 1818. 

Executors of Peter Derimus, iSiS. 

Catharine Livingston, widow of Roliert Livingston, 1819. 

Henry Dodge, 181Q. 

Catherine Wordell, (seamstress). 1819. 

Jacob Bush, 1819. 

Stephen Mitchell, executor of Thomas Mitchell. 1820. 

r^ichard James, 1820. 

Henry Dodge, 1820. 

Dr. Stephen Hasbrouck. iSji. 

Joseph Barmalec. i8ji. 

George Bloom. 1821. 

Luke L Stoutcnburgh. i8j_>. 

John Barnes, 1823. 

Major Bailev and Sanuul W. Kellev. 1823. 

John B. Van' Wyck. 1824. 

.■\mos Thorn, 1824. 

Leonard Davis, 1824. 

James l"ort, 1824. 

John B. Van Wvck, 1824. 

John B. Van Wyck. 1825. 

James Hooker, 1826. 



Before 1800 nearly all slaves are mentioned by one 
name only; after 1800 some were given family names. 

I^ERSOXS WHO REGISTERED SLAVE r.IRTIIS 
UNDER ACT OF MARCH 2.^. 17.,.,. 

Smith Thompson, 1800. 

Caril Hofman, 1800. 

Gilbert Livingston, iSoo. 

James Westervelt, 1800. 

Henry Dodge, 1800. 

Richard Davis, 1800. 

James Brainble, 180T. 

Robert Noxon, 1801. 

Thomas Mitchel, 1801. 

Gideon Boyce, 1802. 

John Reade, 1802. 

William ]\Iorey, 1802, 

John Wilsey. 1802. 

Smith Thompson, 1802. 

Samuel Pinckney, 1803. 

William Morey, 1803. 

Richard Davis, 1803. 

James Westervelt. 1803. 

Thomas Mitchel. 1803. 

John Cooke, 1804. 

James Dearin, 1804. 

John Reade. 1804. 

Mrs. Elizabeth Rogers, 1805. 

Robert Gill, 1805. 

Henry Dodge, 1806. 

John Reade, 1806. 

Peter De Reiiner, 1806. 

Simeon J. Frear, 1807. 

Derick Westervelt, 1807. 

Winer Manny, 1808. 

Henry Dodge. 1808. 

William Morey, 1809. 

William Morey, 1810. 

George W. Clinton, 1810, born 1809. 

George W. Clinton, 181 1. 

Ann Clinlon. 1813. 

Samuel .Mulfonl. 1X15. liorn 180(1, 

ONE OF THE FORAIS FOR REGISTERING THE 
P.IRTH OF A SLA\'E UNDER ACT OF ijQg. 

I Smith Thompson, df I'dughkeepsie, in Dutchess 
Cintnty, .\ttorney-at-l,a\v. being the legal ])roprietor 
of a negro wench slave, do pursuant U> an .\ct nf the 
Eegislature of the State of New York, entitled, an "Act 
fdi" the (iradual .Abolition of Slavery," passed 2(;th 
M.iich. I /<)<). hereby certify that the negro wench has 
been delivered of a male child whose name is P>ill, that 
he is now abi)ut eight montlis old. to the best of my 
kiiDwledge and belief. Dated this jAth da\- of May. in 
the year 1800. 

.Smith Thompson. 

Recnrded 5tli da\ nf June. iXoo. 

RiCHii I'Ai:kitt, Town Clerk. 



AIll.lTIA (M'I'-ICERS \jS.f,-\ynn. 
((Jriginal nil! 111 p. issessicn i>f William T. Ward.) 
.A roll nf tin- iialhs and subscri])tions of the Militia 
Officers, taken and made before Gilbert Eivingstoti, 
Esquire, by virtue of a writ of dedimtis ])otestatem to 
him and others for tliat i)ur]iose issued under tlie great 
seal of the State of Xew N'ork. Dated October 2d, 
1786. 



GENERAL APPEND I X. 



303 



T, A. B.. do solemnly swear and declare, in the 
presence of Almighty God, thai I will bear trne faith 
and allegiance, to the State of New ^'(lrk•, as a free 
and Independent State, and tiiat I will in all things, to 
the best of my knowledge and ability, do my duty, as a 
good subject of the said State ought to do. So help 
me God. 

1-86. 
November 6tli. Consider Casliinnn. LiL-uteii.'iiit. 

Nathan Lane. Ensign. 
Niivenilicr 71I1, Jesse Sniitli, Captain. 

Ebenezer Boyd, Jnnior. luisiKU. 
Isc. Pennoyer, Captain. 
John Drake, Jnnior, Caplain. 
Caleb Hagen, Captain. 
Jolm Berry, Lientcnant. 
Danial Wilson, Ensign. 
Ezra Gregory, Lientcnant. 
" Henry Garrison, /VdjiUant. 

" Tliomas Sears, Captain. 

Solomon Hopkins, Captain. 
Elijah Tovvnscnd, Captain. 
Elijah Bebee, Captain. 
James Townsend, Lientenant. 
Novenilier 29th, Wm. Wilkinson, Lientcnant. 
October 7th,..\bni. Lent, Major Brigade. 
October 15th, Abm. B. Rapalje. 
October 16, Abm. Brinckerhoff, Colonel. 

1790. 
October 19, James Bnrton, Major. 
October 23, John Patterson, Captain. 
July ID, Samuel .-^ngnstus Barker, Lt. Colonel Com. 

1792. 
July 10, Coller Chamberlain, Lt. Colonel. Com. 

T790. 
An.gnst 2(1, John B. Van Wyck, Captain. 
Jan Duffinger, Lieutenant. 
Peter Waldron. 
September ()th, David Morehonse, Captain. 
September 10th, Isaac Swartwout, Lientenant. 

Tunis Hanson. 
October 8th, Taber Bentley, Captain. 

I79r. 
i\L-iy loth, Cornelins Van Wyck. Lieutenant. 
Isaac Vail. Captain. 
Pliilip Van Der Bilt, Ensign. 
Elisha Brown, Lieutenant. 
.■\rchal)ill Swinton, Paymaster. 
James Cook, Captain. 
Benajah Beardsley, Lieutenant. 
Samuel Berry. Ensign. 
Josiah Baker, Quartermaster. 
William Webl, Ensign. 
John Drake, Lieut. Colnnel Counnaml. 
" Eleazer Hazen, Ensign. 

Gilbert Drake, Ensign. 

Wiliam Pearce, Lieut. Colonel Cnmniandaut. 
Samuel ,\ugnstus Barker. Major. 
Benjamin Elliot, Major. 
" Zaccheus Marshel. Captain. 

Jethro Sherman, Licincnant. 
Caleb Hanes, Jr., Ensign. 
Benjamin Titus, Captain. 
Stephen Riley, Lientenant. 
" David Baldwin, Ensign. 

Jonathan Crane, Captain. 
Ezra Richards, Ensign. 
Nathan Paddack. Captain. 
" Samuel Crosby, Lieutenant. 

John Penney, Ensi.gn. 
Thomas Stevens, Captain. 
James Stark, Lientenant. 
Elisha Shelden, Ensign. 
Ephraim ^lanin. Captain. 
Solomon Crosby, Lieutenant. 
" Matthew Beale, Ensign. 



May loth, Daniel Davis. Captain, 

Stephen Mitchell, Lieutenant. 

.'\bul Slierman, Ensign. 
" James Bnrton, Captain. 

" Peter Crosby, Lientenant. 

John Herrick, Ensign. 
" Stephen Barmnii, Captain. 

" John Patterson, Lieutenant. 

Ira Crane, Ensign. 
" Lemuel Cro.sby, Quartermaster. 

" Joseph C. Field, Paymaster. 

" Joseph Chandler, Captain. 

" Elisha Sill, Lieutenant. 

" Peter Talman, .'\djntant. 

William C. Mills. Ensi.gn. 

Henry Luilin.nton. Jr., Ensi.gn. 



1 7S7. 



M;. 
Mav 



l/tli, 
30th, 



5th, 



James Cook, Major. 

Brinton Paine, Lient. Colonel Ci:)mmandant. 

Theodorus Bailey, Major. 

Stephen Hendrickson, Captain. 

Gilbert I. Livingston, Captain. 

Jacobiis Sleght, Captain. 

Daniel Smith, Captain. 

Elias Frost, Captain. 

Henry Humphrey, Captain. 

Jared Rnndel, Lieutenant. 

Stephen Marshall, Ensign. 

William Bailey, Lientenant. 

John M. Thurston, Lientenant. 

William Terry, Lientenant. 

Scudder Piatt, Ensign. 

Jesse Bell, Captain. 

James J. Stoutenbergh, Ensign. 

Peter L Van Kleeck, Ensign. 

James Cooper, Lieutenant. 

James Rent, Paymaster. 

Isaac Bloom, Lient. Colonel Connnandanl. 



Ma; 
Jun 



July 

1788. 
Jnly 2ist, Benjamin Noxon, Infantry Captain. 

The following persons qualified by Gilbert Living- 
ston, bv virtue of dedimus to him and others. Dated 
:\[arch'i_'lh, 1788. 

1788. 
Mav ^rd, James Coopen, Captain. 

Wm. F. M. Piatt, Ensign. 
2ist, James V. D. Burgh, Lieut. Colonel CommandaiU. 
,^rd, Barthw. Vanderburgh, Major. 

William Edniimd, Infantry Captain. 
Peter V. D. Burgh, .\djntant. 

'^^■ 
June Kith. Cornelius .\driance, Capt.iin. 

Theodorus .\driance. Captain. 

John .Xdriance, Captain. 
" John Forbus, Captain. 

" Benjamin Hashrook. Lieutenant. 

George BrinekerhotT, Ensign. 

Theodorns R. \'an Wyck, Ensign. 

Selah Brnsli, Lieutenant. 

Ram. I. .'Vdriance, Lieutenant. 

James V. D. Burgh, Jr., Ensign. 

Cornelius R. Vanwyck, Lt. Infantry Captain. 

John S. Brinckerhoff, Lieutenant. 

John Storm, Ensign. 
June 17th. Nchemiab Oakey, Captain. 
June Kjlli. Zachariah Vanvorhees, CaiU.aiu. 

John INIyer, Jr., Lieutenant. 

Benjamin Roe, Ensign. 
July .^ist, William Swartwout, Captain. 

Cornelius Swartwout. Lientenant. 
" John Lloyd, Captain. 

.Augnst 7th, Wm. B. Alger, Inspector. 
.\ngust I2th, Robert H. Livingston, Captain. 
Angust 14th, .\aron Stockholm, Captain. 
Angust 19th, Joseph Jackson, .\djntant. 
Angust 28th, Elbert Willett, Junior, Captain. 



304 



GENERAL APPENDIX. 



TRUSTEES OF THE VILLAGE OF POUGH- 
KEEPSIE. 

813. 

George Klooni. Prcs 



1799- 
James S. Smith, Pres 



Valentine Baker. 
Andrew Billings, 
Ebcnczer Badger, 
Thomas Nelson. 

1801. 
Gilbert Livingston. Pres. 

1 80 J. 
Garrolt B. Van Ness. Pres 

180.V 
Andrew Billings. Pres.. 
Khenezcr Badger, 
Robert Noxon, 
.Tesse Oakley. 
Robert H. Livingston. 

1804. 
Thomas Nelson. Pres., 
Richard Everitt, 
John Sayres. 
John Forbns. 
Peter R. Maison. 

1805. 
William Kmott. Pres., 
Robert Williams, 
Richard Everitt, 
John Sayres. 
George P. Oakley. 

t8o6. 
William Eniotl. Pres., 
David Carpenter, 
Richard Everitt. 
David Brooks. 
George P. Oakley. 

1807. 
James Tallniadge, Jr.. Pres., 
Robert Noxon, 
Peter B. Morgan, 
Leonard B. Lewis, 
John Wj'nans. 

1808. 
James Tallmadge, Jr., Pres., 
Robert Noxon, 
Peter B. Morgan, 
John Davis, 
Richard Everitt. 

1809. 
John Brush, Pres., 
John Everitt, 
Nathan Myers, 
James Wilson, 
Garwood M. Cunningham. 

1810. 
David Carpenter, Pres., 
Richard Everitt, 
Philo Rtiggles. 

1811. 
William Emoll. Pres., 
William Cromwell, 
Thomas J. Oakley, 
Abraham G. Storm. 

1812. 
William Emolt, Pres., 
Benjamin Arnold, 
Randall S. Street, 
-Abraham Bockee, 
Daniel Hebard, 



John B. Swartwont, 
Thomas Carman. 
Benjamin Arnold, 
Samuel Slec. 

1814. 
Reuben B. Rudd, Pres., 
Samuel Slee, 
John B. Swartwout, 
Benjamin 1 lowland. 
John E. Pells. 

181 5. 
Gilbert Ketcham, Prcs., 
lironson French, 
Thomas Sweet, 
Benjamin Forbns, 
Thomas L. Davies. 

t8i6. 

Clapp Raymond, Pres.. 
Martin Hoflfman, 
Peter R. Maison. 
John B. Swartwout. 
Sabin Lewis. 

181 7. 
Thomas Brownjohn. Pres 
Benjamin Forbns. 
Thomas Barritt. 
John Barnes. 
Major Bailey. 

i8r8. 
Benjamin Fnrbus. Pres.. 
George Mcrkel. 
Edmond Morris, 
Peter Everitt. 
Sannicl W. Kelly. 

iSig. 

Samuel Pine. Pres., 
John Cooper, 
John Green, 
William Phnnmer, 
Matthew Vassar. 

1820. 
Benjamin Forbns, Pres., 
William Plummer, 
Thomas Barritt. 
James B. I'rear. 
John Green. 

i8ji. 

William I'lummer. Pres.. 
John Caller. 
Thomas Barritt. 
James B. Freer, 
John E. Pells. 

1S22. 
Richard Drajjcr. Prcs.. 
.Major B.iilev. 
John Giles. ■ 
Nicholas Powers. 
Benjamin Howland. 

1823. 
Thomas L. Davies, Pres., 
Henry .\. Livingston. 
John Brush, 
John S. Myers, 
Solomon y. Frost, 



1824. 
Solomon V. Frost, Pres., 
Stephen Pardee, 
Matthew Vassar, 
John S. Myers, 
Henry Conklin. 

1S25. 
Oliver Holden, Pres., 
Stephen Pardee, 
Henry Conklin, 
Matthew Vassar, 
John S. Myers. 

1826. 
John S. Myers, Pres., 
Stephen Cleveland, 
Stephen Pardee, 
Matthew Vassar, 
David B. Lent. 

1827. 
N. P. Tallmadge. Pres.. 
Matthew Vassar. 
David Boyd. 
Lsaac Tice. 
Josiah Burritt. 

1S28. 
Stephen Cleveland. Pres., 
Henry Conklin, 
Josiah Burritt. 
Tames Hooker, 
John Giles. 

1829. 
Stephen Cleveland. Prcs.. 
Tohn B. Forlms. 
Elias Trivctt. 
John L. Fonda. 
Laac H. Ver Valin. 

1 830. 
Walter Cunningham. I'ri-. 
Robert Wilkinson. 
Griffin Williamson. 
Josiah Burritt, 
David Boyd. 

1831. 
llinry Conklin. Pres., 
James B. Frear, 
.Alexander J. Coffin, 
Nchemiah Swx'et, 
Jacr)b Van Renthuysen. 

1832. 
I lenry Conklin. Prcs. 
James B. Frear, 
John B. Forbns, 
Jacob Van Benthnysen 
.Alexander J. Coffin. 

1833. 
George P. Oaklev, Pres., 
William^ H. Calkins, 
Mcnrv Conklin, 
Peter P. Hayes, 
Jacob De GrofF, 

1834. 
Alexander Forbus, Pres.. 
Josiah Burritt. 
Isaac L Balding, 
Richard Pudncv, 
James Mills. 

1835- 
Malthew Vassar, Prcs., 
Edward C. Southwick, 
Isaac L Balding, 
Jacob Van Benthnysen, 
Gideon P. Hewitt. 



1836. 
Jacol) Van Benthnysen, Pres., 
Matthew Vassar, 
Isaac \. Balding, 
Gideon P. Hewitt, 
Edward C. Southwick. 

1837. 
Jacob Van Benthnysen, Pres., 
Isaac I. Balding, 
Gideon P. Hewitt, 
Edward C. Southwick. 
David Arnold. 



Jacob Van Benthnysen, Pres 
Isaac I. Balding, 
David Arnold, 
Edward C. Southw'ick, 
Gideon P. Hewitt. 



Gideon P. Hewitt, Pres., 
Uriah Gregory, 
David Arnold, 
Nathaniel Hill, 
John Adriance. 

1840. 
Gideon P. Hewitt. Prcs.. 
David Arnold. 
Nathaniel Hill. 
L^riab Gregory, 
John .Adriance. 

1841. 
Gilbert Wilkinson. Pres., 
Gilbert 1. Vincent, 
William W. White. 
Howland R. Sherman, 
George M. Perry. 

TS42. 
Hubert \"an Wagenen. FVes 
Willi.-un W. Reynolds. 
Barnet Hawkins. 
Jacob De Groff. 
James I'owne. 

1843. 
Hubert \',-ni Wagenen, Prcs 
James I'owne. 
William W. Reynolds, 
Barnet i lawkins, 
Jacob DeGroff. 

1844. 
John M. Cable. Pres.. 
William Hunt. 
Chandler Holbnu.k. 
George R. Gaylord. 
Josepli H. Jackson. 

1843- 
:\lattbcw J. Myers. Pres . 
William W. Reynolds, 
James Bow-ne. 
William A. Famiing. 
Charles Carman. 

1846. 
Matthew J. Myers, Pres., 
James Bowne, 
Charles Carman. 
William A. Fanning, 
William W. Reynolds. 

1847. 
.Adam I lenderson, Pres., 
Nathan GifFord, 
Harvey Palmer, 
William I. Street, 
Benjamin C. Van Vliet. 



GENERAL APPENDIX. 



305 



1848. 
Adam Henderson. Pres. 
Nathan Gifford, 
Harvey Palmer, 
William I. Street. 
Benjamin C. Van Vliet. 

1849. 



1852. 
George Innis, Pres., (to J\lay 

24tli. resig-ned.) 
E. Q. Eldridge. Cfroni May 

24th appointed). 
Samuel Cliichestcr. (to Septem- 
ber 27th. resigned). 
Samuel B. Johnston. Pres., J'"'"^^^, Tilanchard, (from Scp- 
James Reynolds, Jr., „.*.';,'""="" ,?^'A' ^PPO'''^^'^- 

Henry Coffin, ^V',"''''"V^'- Cramer, 

George B. Adriance, \\'^^"" '^''^vm!''- 

William C. Sterling. .\hraham W iltsie. 

1850. 185.S. 
George B. .\driauce. Pres., J^'^'"!' l^^'GrofY, Pres., 
Henrv Coffin, Oliver H. Booth, 
John'M. Cable, Wdliam H. Tallmadgc, 
James F. Marble, Charles Cable, 

Henry Angevine. George Wilkmson. 

1851. 1854- 
Jolin M. Cable. Pres., Jacob De Grotif. 
William P. Gibbons, George Wilkinson, 
Matthew Vassar, Jr., William H. Tallmadgc, 
James H. Fonda, Oliver H. Booth, 
George Innis. Benjamin B. Reynolds. 

Ill 1 810 there were only three trustees during the 
year. The village minutes for May loth state that 
•■Three other Candidates for Trustees that had the next 
greatest number of votes were tied and of course not 
elected." In 1811 there were but four trustees — "John 
Forbus and Rufus Potter had an equal number of 
Votes, being 13 each." Tliere appears to be no means 
of ascertaining the names of the trustees oi 1800, 1801 
and 1802. 



FIRST ORDINANCES N.\AIING STREETS. 
(Page 77.) 
Passed 6th No\ember. 1801. 
r)e it ordained. That the following streets in this 
village shall be known and distinguished by the names 
annexed to them respectively, to wit : 

1. The street beginning between the northwest cor- 
ner of the old Dutch cemetery and the northeast corner 
of the court-house lot. and running thence southerly 
to the extent of the village boimds. to i)e distinguished 
by the name of Market Street. 

2. Tile street beginning at liudsdn's river, at the 
landing of William Davies & Co., and leading thence 
to the nine partners as far as the eastern extremity 
of said village, be distingtu'shed l)y the name of Main 
Street. 

3. The street beginning at Main .Street between the 
lot of Mrs. Rroom and the tan-yard of Ebenezer Bad- 
ger, and leading thence northerly to the extent of the 
corporation limits, to be known b\- the name of W'ash- 
ingtiin Street. 

4. The street commencing on the scnith side of 
]\Iain Street between the lots of Andrew Piillings and 
Leonard Davis, and running thence southerly till it 
meets the road leading from Oswego to Market Street, 
to be known by the name of Academy Street. 

5. The street commencing at .Academy Street in 
front of the Academy, and terminating at Market 
Street, to be distinguislied bv the name of Cannon 
Street. 

6. Tlie street commencing on the eastern side of 
Market Street ^t the southwest corner of the Episco- 



pal Church lot, and leading thence to Academy Street, 
to be distinguished by the name of Church Street. 

7. The street commencing at Hudson's river at 
Hoffman's landing, and running easterly till it unites 
with Main Street, to be known by the name of Mill 
Street. 

8. The street commencing on the west side of Mar- 
ket Street at the southeast corner of the court-house 
lot, and terminating at the union store of George P.. 
Evertson, at the Hudson's river, to be known by the 
name of LTnion Street. 

c). The street leading frum the west side of .Market 
Street at the lot of John Tapjjan, and terminating at 
the landing of Richard Davis, on Hudson's River, to 
be distinguished b>' the name of Pine Street. 

10. The street commencing in the northeast corner 
of a lot assigned to Helen Piatt on the west side of 
Market Street, and leading thence to Hudson's River 
near John Read's landing, to he distinguished by the 
name of Eivingston Street. 

1 1. Tlie street beginning at the south side of Union 
Street opposite the lot of John .\rden, leading thence 
in a southerlv direction to Livingston Street, to be 
known bv the name of Jefferson Street. 

12. The street commencing at the landing of John 
Read and running tlience northeasterly to Jefferson 
Street, to be called by tlie name of Columbia Street. 

13. The street leading from Mill Street at Joseph 
Powman's lot, southerly across Main Street to I^nion, 
to he known by the name of Clover Street. 

14. The street commencing at the north side of 
Mill Street opposite the lot of Nathan Myers, and lead- 
ing northeasterly to Washington Street, to be known 
l)y the name of Bridge Street. 

15. The street commencing opposite the soutli- 
easterly junction iif Pine and Jeft'erson Streets, and 
terminating at the village bounds, to be distinguished 
by the name of Montgomery Street. 

Passed September i6th, 1806. 

16. That the street commencing at Pine Street near 
the house of Francis F. I.eroy, and terminating at 
I'nion Street, shall lie named Laurel Street. 

17. The street comnieneiiig at Pine Street at the 
liciuse of Josiah l'>roas. and terminating in Union 
Street, shall be named Tuli]i Street. 

18. The street commencing at Montgomery Street 
and riinniiig across Main Street by ^^'illiam Emott's. 
and terminating at Mill Street, is nameil Hamilton 
Street. 

IQ- The street cDmmencing at Main Street opposite 
Jedediah Pienjaniin's and running northeasterly to the 
village l^ounds, near Minard \'an de P.ogart's, is 
named Smith .Street. 

20. The street commencing at Mill Street by the 
mills of Martin Hoffman & Co.. and running parallel 
with Ilud.son's River across Main and Union Streets 
till it terniinatcs at Pine Street, is named Water Street. 

21. The street commencing at L'nion Street near 
its junction with Laurel Street, and terminating at 
Water Street, is named John Street. 

22. The street commencing at Montgomery Street 
and rnnniiig across Main Street near the house of 
John I'.oertiin. and across the Fall-kill, till it terminates, 
"at Smith Street, is naiw' Cherry gtreet. 



306 



GENERAL APPENDIX. 



23. The street cniiimeiieiiit;' at Main Street and 
tcrniinatinn; at Cannon Strt-t't. is named IMechanic 
Street. 

24. The street comnieneini;- at .Main Street l)v 
well Xo. 2. and rnnning across ^^dl Street to the 
gate of Levi McKeen. is called Garden Street. 

Passed September 13th, 1833. 
2^. That the street commencing at Washington 
Street next north of Warren Skinner, and rnnning 
easterly lo the village hounds, shall he called Xorth 
Street.' 

I'assed May 6di, 1834. 

26. That the street which runs from Bridge Street 
across the Fall-kill, and to and around Mansion Square, 
and thence to Smith v^treet. shall he called .M.insion 
Street. 

27. That the s(|uare surrounded h\ .Mansion Street 
shall be called Mansion S(|uare. 

28. That the .street which runs from Catharine 
Street to Smith Street parallel with and ne.xt north of 
Mansion Street, sliall he called Cottage Street. 

29. That tile street which runs from Mill Street 
across tlie Fall-kill and across ^lansion Street to Cot- 
tage Street, shall he called Catharine vStreel. 

30. That the street which runs from .Mill Street, 
being a continuation of Hamilion Street across the 
Fall-kill to North Street, shall he called Ilamilton 
Street, excejiting such part of it as passes the west end 
of Mansion S(|uare, which part is called Mansion 
Street. 

Re-enacted 1 st February, 1843. 



1900 Dutchess County 81,670 

1S90 Town of Poughlveepsie 4,782 

1900 ■■ " 6,820 

.\ considerable ])art of the recent growth of the 
Town of 1 'oughkeepsie is iii neighborhoods just out- 
side the limits of the city. ])articularly at .\rlington, 
and near N'assar College. 



1698 
1714 
172.3 
1731 
1737 
1746 
'749 
1756 
1771 
1786 
171x3 
1800 
1810 
1810 
1814 
1820 
1825 
1830 
1830 
183.S 
1840 
1845 
i8so 
1855 
I8.S5 



i860 
1865 
1870 
187s 



Pni'L-L.\TlOX STA'l'lSTlCS. 

(Pagt- 54-) 

Dutchess and Ulster Counties 1,384 

Dutchess County (first separate census) 445 

Dutchess County 1.0S3 

2.239 

3.418 

•• •■ s.8or, 

;.9i2 
14.1.V 

22.404 

32,(13'' 

Town of Poughkecpsic 2,520 

3.^46 

4,669 

VillaKc of rouKhkecpsic 2,981 

Town of I'ouKhUeepsie. . . .^.''73 

Ti)wn of Pouglikeepsie. . . ,^.')3.t 

Village of Poughkeepsic .^023 

0,281 

7.710 

Tciwn of Poughkecpsie 11,79' 

13.944 

(city taken out) 3,110 

Citv of Pouglikeepsie, Ward 1 4.099 

Ward 2 2,663 

" " Ward 3 3,461 

" " Ward 4 2,54012.763 

City of Poughkecpsie 14.726 

16,073 

20,080 

" " 20.022 

" " 20,207 

22,206 

24.029 



POI'GHKEEFSIE HOTEL SALE IN 1804 FOR 

POLITICAL HEADQUARTERS. 

(Page88.') 

This indentiu'e made the first da}' of December, one 
thotisaml eight hundred and four, between Robert Wil- 
liams, of the \ illage of Pouglikeepsie, in Dutchess 
County, and Abigail, his wife, of the first ]>art, and 
Ciilbert Living.ston, Xathan Myers ami |ohn I'.rush, 
esquires, of the second part. . 

Whereas, at a respectable meeting of a number of 
Re]ntblicans of the County of Dutchess, it was tinani- 
mously agreed that it would be greatly to the Re- 
iniblican interest of said county that a liberal sum of 
money should be raised by subscription and appro- 
priated to l)u\' and build or purchase a suitable lot and 
Iniilding in the \'illage of Pouglikeepsie. to be occupied 
as ;i stand for a Public Inn. It was also agreed that 
the Sinn of twelve thousand and five hundred dollars 
be the sum for the purpose aforesaid, and that it be 
divided into shares of $50 each. It was also further 
agreed that Gilbert Livingston, Ephraim Paine, X'athan 
Myers, James Tallmadge, Jr., and John i'.rush, be a 
committee to obtain stich subscrijitiiin from the Rc- 
ptiblican interest disposed to favor the i)lan aforesaid. 
That said committee shall have power to apportion the 
shares subscribed by reducing the number of all or 
any who may have subscribed more than one share 
so that there may be a general distriliution thereof to 
all our Republican friends, and call a meeting of the 
stockholders to take other proper measures to effect 
the premises. 

Acting inicler the .above ;uid agrt'eing to it the fol- 
lowing named, signed and purchased as follows: 

Name. No. of Shares. 

C.corgc Clinton 15 

Morgan Lewis 10 

Smith Thompson 10 

(".illiert Livingston ID 

K.iluTt Willi.-uns 10 

I'laruood 1 1. Cunningham 10 

Thomas Tillotson 5 

D.iniel E. Verplanck 5 

I'lieron Rudd 5 

John Brush 5 

-\fohn Winans 5 

J.rnies Tallmadge, Jr 5' 

Roliert Johnston \ 5 

Derrick W. Hrinckcrhoff 5 

John Sayres 4 

The f'illdwiug inu-chased two sh,-ires e,-ich : 
Peter R. .Maison, Jonas Trixell. .Xathan M\ers, 
John I. Stoutenburgh, John \ an lUuihuysen, Edward 
X. James. Martin Isaac Roliert, Aliraham IToft'man. 
S.-unuel \';ui W\ck. l'",lish;i C. I'.arlow, 1 larr>- Garri- 
.s(]n, .\br;diam II. Scheiick, Jnhn McKinley, William 
P.esley, John >Storm, 



GENERAL APPENDIX. 



307 



The following purchased one share each : 

George Crawford, Thomas Xelson, John Ann- 
strong, Patrick Collins, Aaron Stockholm, Isaac 
-Mitchell, Ephraim Paine, Abraham G. Storm, Abra- 
ham Adriance, Samuel Myers, Ijenjamin Herrick, 
Frederick Knox, Jonathan Gazly, Joshua Ward, Wil- 
liam W. Bogardus, Edmund Per Lee,^Ira Winans, 
^James L. Winans, Joseph C. Field, James De Long, 
James Norssbn, Elias Beers, Peter Gurnscy, Ezra 
Thompson, Robert \\'il!son, Caleb Thompson, Peter 
Fish, Jorden Xorris, William Wadenljurgh, Cvrenus 
Crosby, Lemuel Conklin. Simon S. Frare, John Mob- 
son, Casper Hillequist, Josiah Smith, Bronson French, 
Cornelius ^^'iltsie. James Gazley, Joseph Powell, 
George Booth, Abraham B. Rapalje, James Slater, 
Garrit Atlriance, Joseph llroas, John E. Pe'.ls, Eben- 
ezer Haight. Thomas Barlow, Devaux Bailey, Stephen 
Bailey, Sheldon Munger, Joseph Harris, Theodorus R. 
\ an Wyck, James Collin, John Patterson, John Rich- 
mond. John Cox. Jr., John Thompson, Isaac Hunting, 
Rudolphus Hasbrook, Allard Anthony, John Bedford, 
Ezra Thompson, Jr.. John ^lyre. Christian Dubois, 
Jacobus Swartout, Adrian Munford, Theodorus W. 
\'an Wyck, Abraham Husley, William \'an W'yck, 
.\dam ^[ontross. Theodorus Adriance. Thomas G. 
Storm. Rem Adriance. William Thorn, George Bloom. 
Elnathan Tyler. Daniel Burton and Jonathan Sanford. 

After the above shares were sold a regularly ap- 
pointed committee set apart Tuesday, the fourth of 
September, 1804, for a meeting of the stockholders at 
Baldwin's Hotel, at 2 p. m., to vote for Trustees to 
mana.ge the concerns of the stockholders. The meet- 
ing was presided over by Peter R. liaison, as Chair- 
man, and John Brush as Secretary. The Trustees 
elected were Gilbert Livingston, Nathan Alyers and 
John I'.rush. They were invested with full power to 
purchase and build, or purchase suitable lots and 
liuildings to be occupied as a stand for a Public Inn. to 
provide for the safety tiiereof, to make necessary al- 
terations and repairs, to lease and make leases of the 
same, to collect the subscription for the stock and to 
govern the .■\ssociation. 

These Trustees purchased of Robert \\ illiams "the 
House, Lott and premises known by the name of the 
Poughkeepsie Hotel," and also took an assignment of 
a lease held by him "from the consistorv of the Dutch 
Church iti Poughkeepsie," for all of which the Trus- 
tees paid $9,000. 



NAMES ()F \'OTERS FOR PAMXG OX :\1AIX 

STREET. 

(Page 81.) 

August nth, 1812. 

Ft. fronta.^:e. 

.'^torm and Wilsnii 38 

.-\hraliain G. Stnnii. for the ;\Iiddle District Hank 34.3 

Jesse Oakley 45 

William Cromwell 23 

David and Benjamin .Arnold 21.6 

Benjamin Arnold, as attorney for Sarali \'an Ness.... 5.5 

Tunis Van Kleeck, by his attorney. B. .\rnold 35 

William Plnnimer 30 

Leonard Davis, by B. .\rnold. attorney T78 

William Green, by B, Arnold, attorney 50 

Gertrude Hoflfman, by B. Arnold, attorney 108 



Elijah iMorgan, Jr 18.6 

William Smith, by N. Conklin, Jr., attorney 30.4 

Benjamin Ilerrick 52 

James Talmadgc. Jmiior 60 

Joseph C. Dean 23 . 9 

John Thomas, by B. .Arnold, attorney 70 

John Giles, by B. .Arnold, attorney 24.2 

Peter B. Morgan 2)i 

Samuel Slee, by his attorney. Gilbert Ketcham 42.6 

972 
Owners of lots who did not vote fiir paving and 
improving : 

Dutch Church 238 

IMoses Hobson 25 

Jabish Bosvvorth 36 

Mrs. Mary Hillequist 39.6 

Mrs. Johanna Holthuysen 36 

I. Rivington 89 

Peter Deriemer 56 

Peter R. Maison 116 

Frederick Merkle T,y 

Smith Thompson 44 

Paul Schenck"s assignees 57 

Heirs of .Anthony Hoffman, property in possession of 

James Slater and Joshua V. Racket ^-^ 

Baltns and Thomas Carman 50 

907 
Garden Street. 17 feet ; Mechanic Street. 9 feet 26 

\'OTE ON CANXOX STREET PAMXG. 

20th day Ajiril. 1814. 

Those who voteil for paving and improving: 

Ft. frontage. 

Benjamin Herrick 125.5 

John B. Swartout 35 

John E. Canficld 44. 10 

George Bloom, home lot 40.6 

Samuel Slee 59.5 

Daniel Coolid,i?e, for man. tan office 219.6 

Daniel Coolidge and George Bloom 120.7 

Thomas W. Talmadge 37 . 7 

George B. Evertson loi 

John Davis 64 . 3 

George Bloom's lot next .Academy 66 

Q22.6 

Names of owners of lots who did not \oio for 
paving and improving; 

Ft. frontage. 

Joseph Farrington 30 

Peter De Reinier lot shown 42.3 

Peter De Reimer, vacant lot 55-2 

Hannah Nelson 62.8 

John Peter DeWint 244. 2 

Dutchess .Academy lot 132 

Thomas Warner 66 

Jabcz Wadsworth 47-6 

Jeremiah Martin 50.2 

Hannah Boernm 50. 9 

Adriaiia Mott •. 57. 1 

887.9 

GARDEN STREET P.WING \T3TE. 

(Page 108.) 

■Main to Mill, April 3d, 1833, the resolution pro- 
viding also for brick sidewalks : 

Frontage. 

Peter P. Hayes 172 

Stephen gcofielil 32 



308 



GENERAL APPENDIX. 



Solomon V. Frost 156 

James Mills 30 

George Mead so 

Israel B. Hall ':-,2 

David B. Lent 300 

A majority of 446 fcrt. 



MILL strei-:t pamng \ote. 

■'l''ri)ni CraniK'll Strtx't to Washington Street. 
April. 1833. 



A. J. Coffin 

David B. Lent 

Elias Trivett 

A. G. Storm 

Lsaac ^L Newcomb. 

Samuel Pine 

Aaron Frost 

Charles Wood . . . . 
Gertrude Hoffman 
Adam Henderson . 

Stephen Frost 

Richard Pudney . . 

James Mills 

Theodore Bailey . . . 
John R. Bailey". . . . . 
James Grant, jim. . . 
Solomon V. Frosi 

John Depcw 

G. Williamson . . . . 

William Frost 

William G. Odell.. 
Edmund B. Bailey. 
Willis Haviland . . . 
Paraclete Potter . . . 
Philip S. Crooko 
James Tallmadgc 



lOth 

Feet. 
42 
55 
42 

75 

50 

90 

59/2 

33 

42 

44 

50 

44 



4<^ 
10-' 

150 
50 
45 
4-2 
+2 
465/. 
31/2 



Majority given at 128 feet. 



r.58r 



.M.XRKl'.T STRI'.F.T I'WIXC, \( )TE. 
l'"r<ini .Main Street to tin- Ivinlisii Clinrch." Se])- 



teniber 141)1. 1831. 



No. Feet. 
32 



Hcnr\- Swift 

John Barnes 

Gilbert Brewster 'by 

John B. Forbus. A. Forbiis. J. I). RoIjimsoii, .\I 

Forbus, Estate of John Forbus 77 

John P. Dewint S7 

Edward Hopkins 21 

William Broas 31J 

Stephen Cleveland 40 

Jeremiah Banker 20 

Henry .Mex. Field 13 

James Hooker 122 

John Brush ... 138 

Robert Forrest 45 



Xot voting 



1 .092 



Majority 699 6 

LOWER ^L\TX STREET P.\\1':.MEXT \()TE. 

Meeting at tlie lioii.se of TJKinias Swift, in Market 
Street. September 141)1. 1S31. 

No. Feet. In 

Gilbert Brewster 150 (1 

Paraclete Potter 115 

John G. Sturges 40 

Stephen Cornell, per M. Cornell. , 30 

William Davics 1.545 



\\'illiani Turner 40 

b'.lias Trivett 130 

A. Gun, Jun 40 

.Matthew Vassar 329 

Zebulon Reynolds 42 

Peter Everitt 50 

A. Blakeslee 139 

J. M. Nelson 40 

Marinus Pierce 72 

1 lenry Conklin 658 

3.440 

Not voting 2,557 

Majority S83 



CLIXTOX C.\T)•.C))1S^). 

(From t)ie Political Barometer, .\pri) 24, iSii.) 

( Reference to "Manjiattan Ban)v at Pouglikeep.sie," 
ifiiji qnestion. from page 89.) 

Hie second edition of a new catecJiism. fonndec) on 
nuKJern practice, calcnlatet) to sliow tJie faculty of pro- 
vi()ing for a faiiii)v in an elective government, by the 
()iscovery of a drop of Ointonian b)ood ; and how it 
(|iia)ifies a man for office, or for any number of offices. 
to the exc)usion of t)ieir fe))ow citizens, wliatever be 
tlieir taJents or merits. 

Question. W)iy is DeWitt Clinton .\Liyor of the 
City of New Yortc. Commissioner of Fortifications, and 
of the Western LocJv Navigation Company, director 
of the Maii)iattan Banl<. and Regent of the L^niversity? 

Anszi'cr. Because he is the po)itica) head of the 
Ointonian family. 

0. How did he )3econie so? 

A. By deserting his ])o)itica) father, George Oin- 
tnn, to whom he owes his poiitical existence, and by 
all the acts of a demagogue and an intriguing poli- 
tician. 

0. Why is George Tappen Clerk of L'lster county 
and Notary Public. 

. /. Piccause his father's sister married George Clin- 
(iiii. wild is tlie brotlier of James Clint' mi. wlm is the 
latiu'r of DeWitt Clinton. 

(J. Why is i'ierre C. X'aii Wyck Recorder of the 
Cit\ of Xew ^'ork. Conimissii incr of r.ankni|itcy. ■•uid 
\vli\' is his brother Notary Pulilic? 

./. ISecause his mother was sister of Pierre \'an 
Cortlandt. who married the daughter of George Clin- 
ton, who is tlie brother of James Clintun, wlm is the 
father of DeWitt Clinton. 

(J. Win is Saiimel \';m Wyck a justice of the 
peace of the Cit\' n\ Xew N'ork ? 

. /. lU'Causi' he is cousin of Pierre C. \';ni Wyck, 
whose ninther was sister of Pierre \ an L'ortlandt, 
who married the datigbter of George Clinton, who is 
the lirother of James Clinlnii, wlm is the f.-illur (if 
DeWitt Clinton. 

O. Why is M;ilthias 1'.. Tallmadge Judge of the 
District Cofrt of the L'niti'd States, for the Xew York 
Disti'icl. a manager of the Lottery, etc.? 

. /. i'.ecause he married a daughter of George Clin- 
ton, who is the brother of James Clinton, who is the 
father of DeWitt Clinton. 

0. ^^Mly is Theodorus Piailey Postmaster of the 
Citvof Xew York? 



GENERAL APPENDIX. 



A. Because he married a sister of Matthias B. 
TaUniadge, who married a daughter of George CHn- 
ton, who is the brother of James Clinton, who is 
the father of DeWitt Chnton. 

Q. Why is Simeon DeWitt Surveyor-General of 
the State of New York, and Commissioner of the 
Western Lock Navigation ? 

A. Because he is the cousin of DeWitt Clinton. 

Q. Why is William Stewart rme of the District 
Attorneys of the State? 

A. Because he married the sister of DeW'ilt C'lui- 
ton. 

O. \\'liv is Charles Clinton Clerk n\ Ihr District 
Cnnrt (if the Cnited States, fnr tlu- New \<irk Dis- 
trict ? 

./. Hecause he is the brother of DeWitt Clinton, 
and because Matthias B. Tallmadge, who married his 
cousin, turned out an old ReNdlutinnary officer to make 
room for him. 

0. \\'hy is .\mbrose Sl)encer judge of the Supreme 
Court? 

.1. Hecause he married tiie sister of DeWitt Clin- 
tcin. 

(J. Why is riiilip Spencer. Jr., Clerk of the county 
of Dutche.s's? 

.1. llecause he is the brother of .Knibmse Spencer, 
who married the sister of DeWiit Clintim. 

0.. Why is Joseph C. ImcIiI Sheriff nf Dutchess 
county and his son deputy ? 

./. Because he is the brother-in-law of I'hilip 
Spencer, who is the brother of Ambrose Spencer, who 
married the sister of DeWitt Clinton. 

Q. Why was John C. Spencer private secretary to 
Governor Tompkins, and Master in Chancer)? 

A. B)ecause he is the son of ,\mbrose Spencer, who 
married the sister of DeWitt Clinton. 

(J. Wh\ is James Tallmadge, the elder, commis- 
sioner f<ir Iniilding the court-house and deputy mar- 
shal for taking the census of the Sixtli Congressional 
district? 

--j. Because he is the father of Matthias 15. Tall- 
madge, who married the daughter of George Clinton, 
who is the uncle of T3eWitt Clinton. 

O. Why is James Tallmadge, Jr., old and new 
loan-officer of the county of Dutchess, and I^-esident 
of the Manhattan Bank at Poughkeepsie. 

A. Because he is the brother of Matthias B. Tall- 
madge. who married the daughter of George Clinton, 
who is the uncle of I^eWitt Clinton. 

Q. Why is George ISloom a notary jmblic, attorney 
to the Manhattan Bank at Poughkeepsie, and Surro- 
gate of Dutchess? 

A. Because he shares the profits of the attorney- 
ship with James Talliuadge, Jr., who is the brother 
of Matthias l'>. Tallmadge. who marriecl the daughter 
of George Clinton, who is the uncle of DeWitt Clin- 
ton. 

Q. Why is Obadiah German a Senator of the 
United States, and a Judge of Shenango county ? 

. /. r.ecause he is a cousin of Matthias B. Tall- 
madge, who married the daughter of George Clinton, 
who is the uncle of DeWitt Clinton. 

0. Why is Philip S. Parker Recorder of the City 
of Hudson, and a Commissioner of Bankruptcy? 



. /. Hecause he is the nephew of Ambrose vSpencer, 
who married the sister of DeWitt Clinton. 

(J. Why is John Taylor commissioner for the 
building of the state-house in Albany, commissioner 
lor Indian Affairs, President of the State liank, etc.? 

. (. Because he is the cousin of George Clinton, who 
is the uncle of DeWitt Clinton. 

y. Why is Francis Bloodgood Clerk of the Su- 
preme Court, and Clerk of the J!oard of Regents? 

.1. iiecause he is the nephew of John 'J'aylor, who 
is the cousin of George Clinton, who is the uncle of 
DeWitt Clinton. 

(J. Why is .\braham I'.loodgood Clerk of the 
county of ( )nci(la, ;ind director of the .Manhattan Hank 
at I'tica? 

./. r.ecause he is the brother of h'rancis lUood- 
gooil, and the nephew of John Tayler, who is the 
cousin of George CliiUon, who is the uncle of DeWitt 
Clinton. 

(>. Win is Charles \). Cooprr Clerk of the countv 
of Albany? 

./. Iiecause he married the adopted daughter of 
John Tayler, who is cousin of George Clinton, who is 
uncle of' lie Witt Clinton. 

O. Whv is Samuel C)sgood naval officer of the port 
,,f New V'ork? 

./. Hecause his step-daughter is the wife of Di-- 
W ill t'linton. 

('. Why is John Townsend promoted from a sub- 
altern to a Brigade-Ouartermaster, to rank with 
Major? 

. /. Because he married the daughter of Ambrose 
Spencer, who married the two sisters of DeWitt Clin- 
ton. 

0. Wh\- is llenr\ .\. Townsend Clerk of Steuben 
county ? 

.1. Hecause he is the brother of John, who married 
the daughter of .\mbrose Spencer. 

(). Win are Benjamin DeWilt and Isaac Dennis- 
ton Lottery Agents, who by their speculative mode of 
selling tickets, may make. UKire than any salary offi- 
cers in the government ? 

A. Because they are the relations of Jolm Tayler, 
who is the uncle of DeWitt Clinton, and cousin to 
George Clinton. 

Q. Why is DeWitt Clinton the leader of the CHn- 
tonian party in the State of New York, and why is he 
to be Lieut. -Governor and candidate for the chief 
magistracy of the state and nation? 

./. Because it enables him to trace out all the con- 
nexions of his family, and provide every one of them 
with offices. 

0. Tlow" many offices and [ilaces of profit ;ire in the 
possession of DeWitt Clinton and his f;imily con- 
nexions 'f 

A. ^\'ithout counting any office Axbich is held by 
the immediate \-oice of the people, I find the Clinton- 
ian famih- and its connexions in the ])ossession of 
aoo\e fort\- offices or places of ]irofit, many of them 
the most lucrative in our countrv, and that this ag- 
gregate amount of emoluments of these offices will l)e 
as great as the emoluments of all the rest <5f the of- 
fices of the State put together. 

C.\TECHUMUN. 



310 



GENERAL APPENDIX. 



APPEAL OF THE CONSERVATIVES OF 1821 

AGAINST RE\'ISION OF THE STATE 

CONSTITUTK )X. 

( Pase iiS. I 

Siii'ticrs i)f the call fnr a mcctiii!;- at tlic Imuse of 
Eiithcr Cay, in the Town of Wasliin^ton, mi Meniday. 
the I I til t)f June, for the ])urpose of agreeins' upon 
candidates to the constiiutional cnnvention: 



Charles B. Caller, 
John G. Parker, 
Elisha Clark, 
Henry Tarhill, 
Thos, Cotton, 
William (^.recn, 
llcnrv 1). Lansjdoi 



James Grant, 
Edwin Thompson, 
Lewis R. Vaughn, 
William D. Sealey, 
A. W. Bruce, 
Ahm. Mace, 
Peter MulhulUuul. 



Morgan Lewis, 
James Eniott, 
William Taher, 
Stephen Hasbrook 
Benjamin Burr 
Thomas Sweet, 
Hcnrv F. Tallmadge, 
John'W. Righter, 
Aaron E. Winchell. 
Stephen Eno, 
E. N. Swift. 
Gilbert Thome, 
Amos D. Knapp. 
Henry Conklin, 
David Tomlinson, 
John T. Schryver, 
James Grant, 
Paraclete Potter, 
Thomas Taber, and, 
Benjamin Sherman. 
Gilbert Ketcham. 
Duglas Clark. 
Caleb K. Hol)l)y. 
Rronson French, 
Joel Benton. 
William 1. Stewart, 
John L Traver, 
George B. Evertson, 
James Hooker, 
John Dubois, 
iMatthew Mesier, 
Philip N. Pionistcel. 
Cornelius C. Van Wyck. 
Silas Germond, 
James Downes. 
William 1. Thorne, 
A1)raham D. BrinkcrhofT, 
John Titus, 
Isaac Smith, 
Richard C. Van Wyck, 
John .Armstrong. 
John Johnston. 
Martin Hcermance. 
Joseph .\rnold. 
Robert Granl. 
John B. Van Wyck, 
John Cooper, 
Henry A. Livingston, 
Nicholas Thorne. 
Phili]) Conkrite. 
Jonathan Ilaighl. 
1-rederick Barnard. 
Brush Sutherland, 
Jehiel Sacket, 



fri [udcl. 

J..hn Brush. 

Walter Per Lee, 

James Ketcham. 

Thomas J. Oakley, 

Stephen Sweet, 

Tunis Van Kleeck, 

Joel Denton. Jr.. 

Phil,. Ruy-U-s. 

Robert WiKnn. 

J.iMah lUirrut. 

Abraham Bockee, 

Richard Thorne. 

William Thomas, 

John S. Livingston, 

Randal! S. Street. 

John W. Wheeler, 

lili Angevinc, 

Jacob C. Elmcndorf, 

Tunis Hasbrook, 

Joseph Thorne, 

Abraham D. Van Wyck, 

Daniel North rup. 

William Smith. 

Alfred T red way. 

Gideon Woollcy. 

John Beadle. 

Rliiah Haight, 

William Bard, 

Willi;ini Thorne. 

Tobias L. Stoughtenburgli 

John Wilkinson, 

Alfred S. Pell, 

Jonathan LockwooJ, 

I Icnry Davis, 

James S. Cooke, 

ICmainicl Overocker, 

h'vert N. Van Waggoner, 

Peter lueritt, 

()l)ediah Titus, 

Simpson Sleght, 

James Duane Livingston, 

Daniel Ostrom, 

Christopher Hughes, 

Wright Lattin, 

Silas Pcttit, 

David Barnes, 

John Dclavcrgne, 

Walter Cunningham, 

Platl Vail. 

[ohn P.anu-s. 

koberl A. Hoffman, 

David Vk Lent. 

Isaac lloffman. 



CMAUTl'.K Ml'.MI'.ERS ENGIX'E COMPANY, 

\o. 4. 

(Villajre Minutes, Xovcmher 3, 1836,) 



Luman Parmalec, 
Jas. Reynolds, Jnn.. 
If. R. Sherman, 
Benjamin Gile. 
William IP Smith, 



Will A. Potter, 
James F. Marble, 
David W. Peters, 
Addison P. Rowley, 
John T. Howard, 



lUlLDlXC, IX P( )L'GHKEEPSIE IX 1841. 

( 'rclcgraf<h, January 6, 1841.) 

(Page 138.) 

According to our annual custom, we have collected 
the following statistics of our village : 

Poughkeepsie has 79 streets which are opened, on 
which there are 1.055 dwelling hotises, excltisive of 
other btiildings, viz : On Academy 44, Albany 7, 
Bayeatix 3, Dridge 6, Cannon 43, Clover 21, Crannel 
6, Cottage 11, Clinton 11, Catharine 14, Conklin 4, 
Cherry 6. Columljia 1, Church 21, Delafield 6, Dutchess 
Avenue (), Davis 3, tiarden 24, Hamilton 15, Jefferson 
34, Jay 11. Kennebec 2. Laurel 3, Lafayette Place 7, 
Liberty 5. AL'iin 2()2, r^Iarket 48, Montgomery 26. Mill 
85, Mechanic 7, Xoxon 11., Pine 26, Perry 15, Pros- 
pect 7, Smitli and vicinity 23, Spruce 4, Tulip 2, L^nion 
56. Water 50. Wasliington 46. Freertown 18, and 10 
scattering. 

Of these buildings 30 have been erected within the 
last _\ear. 

There ari- in the x'illage 25 dry goods stores. 51 
groceries. 4 drug stores, 2 crockery stores, 14 shoe 
stores and shops, 6 hat stores, 10 hotels and taverns, 
10 milliners. 3 hardware stores, 5 stove and tin stores, 
12 tailoring establishments, 2 glove stores, 2 chair 
warerooms, 6 cabinet warerooms, 5 watch and jewelry 
stores. 2 confectioneries, 2 book stores, i book bindery, 
5 saddle and liarness establishments. 9 markets ( two 
of them ]>ublic). () carriage and wagon making estab- 
lishments. II) blackstuith shops, 3 paint sho])s. 3 fur- 
naces. 2 brass foundries, 3 machine sho])s, 2 turning 
shops. 2 glue factories. 4 grist mills. 2 saw mills, i dye 
wood mill, 3 plough factories, 12 victualing rooms, 2 
leather stores. 2 tanneries, 2 toy sho])s, 5 barber shops, 
'3 tobacco and cigar factories, 3 livery stables, 2 brew- 
eries. 3 mall houses, 4 coal yards, 6 lumber yards, 2 
marble y;irds, 2 ship yards, 3 freighting companies, 3 
printing offices, issuing five i)apers, Tclcgrapli, liaiilc. 
Journal, Casket and TJiompsonian, 5 bakeries. 

M.\Nui*.vcToRit:s — Two carpet factories. 2 lock fac- 
tories. I jeweler, i rojjcwalk. 2 wood ware. 4 cooper's 
shops. 3 pump factories, 2 brick-yards, 2 soa]) and can- 
dle factories, i sperm candle and oil do., 3 sash and 
Venetian blind factories. 2 frame making establish- 
ments, I Morocco establishment, i paper hanging es- 
tablishment. 2 stone and earthenware do., i comb fac- 
tory. I pin manufactory, i ])astc blacking do., i um- 
brella do., I bandbox do. 

Puni.ic JJuii.DiNCS — Ct)iu-t House and Jail, C\)unty 
Poor House, Dutchess Academy, Collegiate School, 
Village Markets. Lancaster School House, Powder 
House, 4 I'jiginc 1 luuses and Jlooks and l,;idder 
Houses. 



GENERAL APPENDIX. 



an 



Incorporated Companies — Dutchess County 
liank. capital $650,000: Farmers and .Manufacturers 
liank, $300,000: I'oughkeepsie Bank. $100,000; I'ough- 
keei)sie Savings Hank, I'oughkeepsie Silk Company, 
Locomotive Company, Dutchess Whaling Company, 
Dutchess Mutual Insurance Conijiany, Dutchess 
Guards. 

Places of Worship — P.aptist i. Congregational i, 
Episcopal 2, Friends 2, Methodist Episcopal 2, Preshy- 
terian i, Reformed Dutcli i. Roman Catholic i. Zion 
Methodist (colored) i, total 12. 

Professional — 2i- lawyers. lO physicians (3 
Thompsonian), 3 dentists. 

Schools — Coltegiate School, Dutchess Academy, 
Lancaster School, Poughkeepsie High School and 18 
other schools. 

Miscellaneous — -\ Lyceum with reading' room, 
cabinet and stated lectures. 3 other reading rooms, i 
circulating librar\'. 

Population of the \'illage. 7.710. 



LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 



P( )ST.MASTERS OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 

(Page 130.) 

Nicholas Power, July 31, 17(^2. 
Levi McKeen, April i. 1802. 
Jacob Van Ness, JMarch 31, 18 19. 
Nathaniel P. Tallmadge. March 23, 1821. 
Lawrence I. \'an Kleeck, January- 4, 1835. 
Jacob \'an Benthuxsen. July 6. 1829. 
Egbert B. Killey, August 6, 1846. 
Isaac Piatt, May 5, 1849. 
Albert S. Pease, May 4, 1853. 
George P. Pelton, June 23. 1857. 
Albert Van Kleeck, March 28, 1861. 
H. C. Smith. November 16. 1866. 
Alfred B. Smith. February 25, 1867. 
George Parker, February 8. 1875. 
Robert PL Hunter, January 31, 1879. 
William M. Ketcham, February 22, 1887, 
John I. Piatt. February 24. 1891. 
Frank Ilasbrouck. February 22, 1895. 
Frank \\'. Halstead. January 31, 1899. 
Isaac W. Sherrill, December 10. 1900. 



SUBSCRIBERS TO HUDSON RI\ ER RAIL- 
ROAD STOCK. 

(Page 141.) 
January 2t,. 1847. 

At a large and respectable meeting of the citizens 
of Poughkeepsie. in favor of the speedy construction 
of the Pludson River Railroad, held at the X'illage 
Hall on Saturday evening, January 23rd, (1847), Mat- 
thew A'assar, Esq., was chosen President: E. B. Kil- 
ley and James Bowne. \ice-Presidents. and LeGraml 
Dodge and H. R. Sherman. Secretaries. 

R. Wilkinson, Esq., Jacob B. Jewett. Isaac Piatt 
and C. Bartlett among the speakers. 



JaiiK-s I looker 

James Roosevelt . . 
William Davies . . . . 
Tlionias L. Davies . . 
William A. Davies. . 
.Matthew Vassar . . . 
(■eorge Van Kleeck. 
Robert Wilkinson . . 
George C. Marshall. 
Oilbert Wilkinson . . 
James Ingham . . . . 

David B. Lent 

Cicorge Pomerov . . 
William I. Street.. 
Clifford & Sherman. 

V. D. Bonesteel 

M. J. Mvers 

I.)hn H Riitzer.. .. 
Richard \. Varick.. 
Charles Bartlett . . . 

Isaac Piatt 

Adriance & Coller. . 
H. Van Wagenen . . 
T. W. Tallmadge. . 

James Mills 

E. B. Killey 

Wales .A. Candee.. 
S. B. Trowbridge.. 

James Bowne 

William Broas . . . . 
Josiah Williams . . . 
Edward Giraiid . . . . 

Cole & Jewett 

James Emott. Jr.. . 
John Thompson . . . 
M. & J. G. Vassar.. 

Isaac Merritt 

.Abraham Fonda . . 
Abraham Varick . . 
William Bushnell . . 
James H. Mills.... 
.Allcs Phinney .... 

Henry Coffin 

James H. Fonda. . 

C. D. Smith 

Caleb Barker 

Finlav & Barnes. . . . 
E. T'rivett & Son.. 
William Wilkinson 

John Barnes 

Charles Anthes . . . 

Reuben North 

William Coffin . . . . 
Henrv D. Varick.. 
Charles W. Swift.. 
David Arnold .... 



f 1 0,000 
5,000 

10,000 
5.000 
5.000 

10.000 
1,000 
1,000 
500 
1. 000 
1. 000 
2,500 
1,000 
500 
2,500 
1,000 
2,500 
2,000 
1,000 
2.500 
1. 000 
1. 000 
.^.000 
1.000 
1. 000 
1. 000 
1,000 
2.500 
1,500 
1,500 

T.OOO 
1.000 
2,000 
1. 000 
. . 1 ,000 
.1,000 
1,000 

1,000 

1,000 
1,000 
1,000 

300 
200 
500 
500 
500 
500 
500 
500 
500 
500 

500 
500 

1,000 
1,000 
1,000 



George B. Adriance.. 

W. H. Bradley 

G. W. Farrington. . . . 

Benjamin Gile 

Storm & Uhl 

\ym. W. White 

Caleb Morgan 

John Simpson 

Charles Pearl 

Jeremiah Piatt 

G. A. Sherwood 

David Boyd 

Robert Millard 

George B. Lent 

E. P. Benjamin 

Hervy Palmer 

Chas.' H. Woodruff.. 

E. F. Grant 

Chandler Ilolbrook .. 

Philip Pollock 

John G. Parker 

John P. Nelson 

Isaac Ticc 

Edward C. Sonthwick 

John F. Hull 

I(. J. Jewett 

C. B. Harrison 

William A. Palmer... 

Joel Divine 

Henry Pine 

Wm. H. Tallmadge.. 

Isaac 1. Pialding 

l.edrand Dodge 

William Cornwell . . . 

Isaac Griffin 

Wm S. Morgan 

James O. Van .Anden. 

C. B. Caldwell 

L. F. Streit 

Degroff & Cable 

Simeon Wood 

Richard C. Sonthwick 

B. C. Van Vlict 

Jacob Bockee 

Michael Phillips 

Gray & Jennings 

J. Hervev Dudley.... 

S. W. Hester 

S. C. D. Raymond.... 
H. W. McClonghtrv.. 

G. P. Pehon 

Richard Pudney 

Walter .Adriance .... 

John Giles 

S. H. Bogardns 

Samuel Chichester . . 



500 
500 
500 
500 
500 
500 
500 
500 
500 
500 
500 
500 
500 
500 
500 
500 
500 
500 
500 
500 
.soo 
500 

5CX3 

500 
500 
500 
500 
500 
500 
500 
500 
500 
500 

,^00 

^oo 

300 
300 
300 
300 
300 
300 
200 
300 
3<» 



500 
500 
500 

.lOO 



NA.MES OF PLOT HOLDERS IN REFORMED 
DUTCH CEMETERY ON HYDE PARK ROAD, 

JUST NORTH OF CITY LIMITS. 

(From m,-qi. containing the diite of purchase <if the 
])ro])ertv. 22 March. 



of pnrchas 
1 8 1 o. ) 



(See page 148.) 



Samuel Pine. 
James Tallmadge. Jr.. 
Harry Vanderbilt, (bla 
Thon'ias North. 
I'.enjamin Rnckingham, 
J.imes Reynolds, 
.\bni. G. Storm, 
Jolui Brush, 



:k) 



lienjamin Rom.ifn. 
Benjamin I lowland, 
Theron R\idil, 
Benjamin llerrick, 
Jonathan Myrick, 
Daniel Ilebard, 
John Gary, 
Robert Forrest, 



312 



GENERAL .IPPENDI X. 



Ebenezer Nye, 
Baltus Carmen, 
Tliomas Carman, 
James Miles, 
William R. Barnes, 
Thomas Whitman, 
Joseph Harris, 
Minister in Being, 
Cornclins C. Cnyler, 
Joseph C. Fields, 
Isaac Mitchell, 
Joseph Nelson, 
John Nelson, 
Thomas Nelson, 
John Armstrong, 
William Smith, 
Dr. John Ward, 
Rufus Potter, 
Jacob Seabnry, 
Thomas W. Tallmadge, 
William Davies, 
Martin Hoffman, 
Abraham Bockee, 
George P. Oakley, 
Jesse Oakley, 
George Merkle. 

Walter 



-It, 



Oliver Holden, 
George Booth, 
Paul Schenck, 
Samuel Matthews, 
Henrv Barnes, 
John 'Pells, 
Cornelius Swartwc 
David Carpenter, 
Philip Spencer, Jr., 
Nathan Myers, 
John Van Derburgh, 
Wines Manny, Jr., 
William Kidney, 
John Ryan, 
John Tliomas, 
John Evcritt. 
John Van Valkcnburgh, 
Abraham Pells, 
George Bloom, 
Thomas Fenncr, 
Samuel Mulford, 
John S. Frear, 
Mary Smith, 
Sally Van Ness, 
Elizabeth Tappen, 
George B Evertson, 
Evertson. 



NAMES OF PLOT OWNERS OF B.-VPTIST 
BURYING GROUND. 



(Fruiii niai> mai 

W. Plunmier, 
J. Tallmadge, 
S. Slee, 
D. H. Barnes, 

D. Coolidge, 

E. W. A. Bailey, 
T. Hopkins. 

J. Rhodes, 
H. Dodge, 
G. Parker, 
J. Norris, 
T. Fanning, 

C. Hillequist, 
J. Mills, 

J. Wilson, 
J. Everitt, 
R. Everitt, 
P. Everitt, 
Z. Pells, 
J. Slater, 

D. Burton, 
Harvey, 

R. S. Street, 
T. Rudd. 
Sam Butler, 
N. Conklin, 
J. Holmes, 
G. Daniels, 
S. Carv. 
L. Smilli. 



J. Wilson, dated 18 1. 

B. Bunker, 
M. Vassar, 
J. Vassar, 

L. Van Kleeck, 
G. Parker, 
J. Forbuss, 
E. Dodge, 
N. Povk'er, 

A. Raymond, 

C. Raymond, 
M. Bailey, 
K. Morris, 

B. L. Briggs, 
Wm .Germond, 
J. Moore, 

A. Henderson, 
J. Cable, 
L. Leonard, 
O. Holden, 

D. Williams, 

J. H. Beardsley, 

Charles Senitt, 

Pierponl, 

J. G. Sturgiss, 

Charles Vassar, 

J. B. Gay, 

J. More, 

Frisby, 

McGeorge, 

A. Smith. 



I'IRST ^,\^]\' DISTRICT. 
( \'illa!;c MiiuilL's Si'plfniluT I, 1S51). 

Main Street, from the River to Clinton Street. 
Mill Street, from Vassar to Hamilton Street. 
Cannon Street, from Market to the Reservoir. 
Aiarket Street, from Main to Noxon Street. 
Academy Street, from Main to No.xon Street. 
Washington Street, from Main to Mill Street. 
Union Street, from Market Street to the west cor- 
ner of Market Place. 



Church Street, from Market to Hamilton Street. 

Noxon Street, from Market to Academy Street. 

J lamilton Street, from Church to Mansion Street. 

Mansion Street, from Conklin to Clinton Street, 
inchidinjj the streets on all sides of Mansion Square. 

Catiiarine Street, Crannell Street, Conklin Street. 

IJberty Street, from Main to Cannon Street. 

Garden Street, from Main to Mill Street. 

Lafayette Street, \'assar Street, together with all 
sections of streets within two hundred and fifty feet 
of any lamp post, or of a line therefrom across the 
street, at right angles thereto, as follows, viz : Water, 
Clover, Perry. Bayeaux. Bridge, Union, Washington, 
Mansion. Garden, Hamilton. Clinton, Smith. Main. 
Church, .\cadeniy, Catherine, Market and Thompson 
Streets. 



LIST OF POUGHKEEPSIANS WHO SERVED 
ON THE RELIANCE AND THE DUTCHESS. 
The following is a list of men who went off on 
the "Reliance" (Vidette) and the "Dutchess" (Lan- 
cer ) from Poughkeepsie, in the Civil War : 

Rkli.xncu (Vidette). 

Abrani B. Crapser, Chief Engineer. 

Levi Cra])ser. -Assistant Engineer. 

W. H. Crapser. Assistant Engineer. 

Jacob Koebel (Cable). Fireman. 

Arthur Sherwood, Fireman. 

Charles Polhamus, Fireman. 

George Strathern. 

Henrv Buycc. 

John Seats. 

James l!all. 

Nathan L. Sunlv. 

Walter Scott. ' ■ 

Four of the above were mcmliers of Cataract F,n- 
gine Co., No. 4. 

Dutch rcss ( Lancer ) . 

(leoj-ge Purely, Chief Engineer. 

Thomas Ouinton, Assistant Engineer. 

.Mien Purdy. .\ssistant Engineer. 

\\'illiam Christy. 

Cornelius .A.llotton. 

George W. Lewis. 

Alexander Ross. 

Samuel Whalcn. 

The above wt-re all members of Cataract Engine 
Comi)any, No. 4. or othiT tire companies. 

Both the "Reliance" (X'idette) and "Dutchess" 
(Lancer) went out in the Biu'iisidc ex]ie<lition, and 
took part in the capture of Romiokc lsl;ind. I'lymnulb. 
N. C, and Newhernc. N. C. 



CITY OFFICERS. 

M,\M)KS. 

( I'",lected for ti'rnis of nm- yv.w tmtil iS^c). then for two 

\ears. ) 
1X54-1X55 lames I'.mott I resigned Jan. 7, 1X55). 

ilenrv D. N'arick ( Ajiptd. lo finish term). 
1856-1857 George Wilkinson. 
1X58-1X60 Charles W. Swifl. 
18^)1-1862 lames Bowne. 



G nx ER .1 L APFUX D I X. 



513 



1863- 


1868 George Iniiis. 




1869- 


1870 George Morgan. 




I87I- 


1874 Harvey G. Eastman. 




187s- 


1876 Jacob P>. CarpcntLM'. 




1877- 


1878 Harvey G. Eastman (died in office). 




Dr. John R. Cooijcr ( .\|)])td. 


til till vacancy) 


1879- 


1880 William Harloe. 




I88I- 


1886 Ezra White. 




1887- 


1888 Edward Elsworth. 




1889- 


1890 Charles M. Rowley. 




i8gi- 


1892 Edward Elsworth. 




1893- 


1894 William M. Ketcham. 




189s- 


i8t:)6 Charles N. .-\rnold. 




1897- 


1898 J. Frank Hull. 




1899- 


1900 Isaac W. Sherrill. 




1901- 


George M. Hine. 





1854 
1858 
1862 
1866 
1870 

1874 
1878 
1882 
1886 



1890 

1894 



Kl'X'ORDKRS. 

(Elected for terms of four years.) 
Dr. William Thomas. 
Frederick A. Eighmie. 
Charles Robinson. 
Robert E. Ta\Ior. 
Robert E. Taylor. 
Robert E. Ta\lor. 
Robert F. Wilkinscni. 
Frank B. Lown. 
Cyrenus P. Dorland (resigned 1889 to become 

Surrogate. ) 
Cas]x'r L. Odell (One year to fill vacancy). 
Charles Morschauser. 
Casper L. Odell (resigned). 
Samuel H. llrown (.\pptd. to fill vacancy). 
Joseph Morschauser. 
Became City Judge 1903. 



CITY ci[.\.Mr,iau,.\iNS. 
(Appointed first b\- Council, afterwards liv ATavor.) 
1854-1858 Robert N. Palmer. 
1839-1864 Robert E. Taylor. 
1865-1866 Joseph Ci. Frost. 
1 867- 1 868 Fred W. Pugsley. 
1869- 1873 Wm. Morgan Lee. 
1874 Jose])h G. Frost. 

1873-1876 George H. Williams. 
1877-1880 Lewis Baker. 
1881-1882 Sherman II. LeRov. 
i88vi886 Isaac W. Sherrill.' 
1887-1888 Kiernan J. Lawlor. 
i88()-i890 Peter Hulme. 
1891-181)2 Kiernan J. Lawlor. 
1893-1894 John J. Ruddy. 
1 895- 1 896 E. P. Bogardus. 
1897-1898 Alonzo H. \'ail. 
1899- Courtland S. Thnvland. 

C\r\ TKI-IASUUICKS. 

The- office of Citv Treasurer was created bv the 
Cliarter of i86<). The corresponding officer before 
that time was called the Citv Collector. Frederick 
Woodruft' was Collector from 1854 to 1867, followed 
for one year bv Joseph G. Frost. The first City 
Treasurer was Daniel B. Marsh, who resigned De- 
cember 29th, 1869, when Richard E. Lansing was ap- 



pointed for the remainder cif the term. Subsequent 

City Treasurers were : 

1870 Elias G. Hopkins. 

1871-1872 Solomon P.. Wheeler. 

1873-1878 Frank W. George (died in office). 

1879-1880 Bvron L. Heath (.\p])td. to fill vacancv). 

1881-1884 Abraham Wiltsie. 

1885-1886 Owen Ward. 

1887-1888 Frank Plasbnnick. 

1889-1890 Ezra White. 

1891-1892 Henry \'. Pelton. 

1893-1894 Edward S. Haight. 

1895-1896 Charles R. Dickin.wn. 

1897-1898 D. Crosby Foster. 

1899-1900 Charles E. Schou (resigned). 

1901- Clinton D. Parkhill. 

CITV .\TTORNEVS. 

(Office created by the Charter of 1874.) 
Allard Anthon\- had been Corporation Counsel 
from 1869-1874. 
1873 O. D. M. Baker. 
1876-77 William I. Thorn. 
1878-86 Wm. Morgan Lee. 
1887-88 Charles B. Herrick. 
1889-90 William R. Woodin. 
1891-94 Charles B. Herrick. 
1895-96 P. Edgar Ackert. 
1897-98 James L. Williams. 
1899- Wm. Morgan Lee. 



CHIEF ENGINEERS OF THE POUGHKEEPSIE 
FIRE DEPARTMENT. 

VIl.f.AC.E. 

John Inrush. 
John Cole. 
Peter P. Haves. 
Alfre.l G. Wainrighl. 
Jo.seph Wrighl. 
C. W. Adriance. 
Oliver H. Booth. 
William licrr}'. 

CITY-. 

1854 William I'.crry. 

1835-59 Edward r*- Taylor. 

t86o George H. McLean. 

i86r Stephen .Armstrong. 

18(12 George H. McLean. 

18(13 William C. .\rnold. 

1864 John J. Keech. P^cs. 

1864-63 Robert W. Frost. 

1866-67 William T. Swart. 

1868 Edward W. Shurter. 

1869-72 Isaac H. Wood. 

1873-75 Charles II. Shurter. 

1876-77 Edward \\'. Shurter. 

1 878-71) ^^'illiam Howard. 

1880-87 William Kaess (died in office). 

1887-88 Charles D. Fitchett. 

i88i)-()2 John Bright. 

i8i)3-i)() Lewis Thompson. 

1807-00 Frederick Piieber. 

1901-05 George Nagengast. 



ADDENDA AND ERRATA. 



< 111 l>atje 20, seven lines fruin tlie 1ieL;iiiniii,u, 1S13 
sliould read 1715. 

( )n the same page the statement as to the coiiiiee- 
lion hetween tile \ an den I'lciqart an<l 1 leermance 
families is unwarranted, at least it does iint applx U< 
any present 1 leermance families sii far as knnwn. The 
name \ an den Uncart was used by .Myndert 1 larms's 
father and probably dates back of the arrival of the 
family in this country. There seems to he no certain 
evidence that any of his descendants took the name 
Heermance. 

( 'n ]>a,t;;e 92 should have l)een addeil a statement 
that Isaac Mitchell inirchased the Republican Herald 
September ifith. 1S12, and changed the name to "Tlic 
Xorfhcrii I'olilifiaii." .Mitchell died in Xo\-ember 
and the next o\\ner^ of tlu' |iapir doubtless restored 
the former name. 

( )n IWije 154, near the end of the first column, the 
word "brother."' in reference to .Mayor (■e<ir,L;e \\ ilkin- 
son, should read "neiihew." 



A/L 



A, 



< >n page 15') there should be mention of the bnild- 
int;- of the ])resent Washington Street Church in 1S58. 

( )ii page 205 there should be mention of the last 
school conducted on Cottage Hill by John Miley. The 
old seliocil buildings were torn down by Mr. Mark 
v^hwartz. who iwrchased the property in May, i8i;o. 
and built the present block of brick buildings on the 
street front. 

< )n ])age 20(), second line. William -\. 1 lowland 
should be Joseph Rowland. 

( )n page 244 George Card, near the bottom of the 
first column, should read Silas Card. 

( '11 l>age 251 there shouhl be mention of tlie organ- 
ization of an English Lutheran Church in ( )ctober. 
ic)oi, by Re\-. Charles S. Rahn. the present pastor, in 
co-operation with Rev. H. D. Kraeling, then pastor of 
the Cierm.ui Lutheran Church. The new congregation 
is known as St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church, 
and inirchased its jiroperty at 176 Clnirch Street, in 
\')'\^. It is a growing church witli a present (ups) 
membership of about 100. 






CC^ 



^t^M^ U4 



INDEX. 



luE ^AMEs Occurring only in the lists of Civil War Enlistments, Pages 175-18.- in the list 

OK THE FIRST professors AND INSTRUCTORS AT VASSAR COLLEGE, PAGE 203; AND IN THE LLSTS OF 

THE General Appendix, pages 300-313, are not individually indexed 



A 

Alilic.tt, Roljert— ;;. 

Al)cll, C. Pierre— 222. 

Academy — See Scliools. 

Academy Street — 52, 64, 65, 77, 108 

Ackert, A. T.— 205. 

Ackert, P. Edgar— 244. 

Ackert, Roberta S. — 251. 

Ackert, William Samuel. JM. I).— 270. 

Adams, Rev. B. M. — uji. 

Adams, Charles C. (editor 181 1)— 91. 

Adams, John — 50. 

Adriance, Abraham — 63. 92. 

Adriance. Charles P. — 123. 147. 

Adriance, Cornelius — 39, 303. 

Adriance, Francis H. — 253. 

Adriance, George B. — 151, 223. 

Adriance, Rev. Harris E.— 253. 

Adriance, I. Reynolds— 253. 2C>o. 

Adriance, John (father of John P.) — 

117, 129, 138, 158. 
Adriance, John E.— 253. 2(13. 2<)4. 
Adriance, John P.— i"i8, 18(1. 191, 192, 

104. 206, 217, 220, 223, 253. 
.Adriance, Piatt & Co.— 191, 197, 254. 
Adriance, R. E. & Co. — 161. 
Adriance, William A.— 253, 260, 264. 
Agnew, Dr. Charles (N.' Y.)— 209. 
Agricultural Association, Hudson River 

.Ahreet, John D.- 266. 
Aikin. .'Mbro — 107. 
Aikin, James C. — 171. 
Akin, Daniel D — 115. 
Akins. Jonathan, Constitutional Conven- 
tion. 1788— fn. 
Alhertson. 15. — 209 
Albertson Edge Tool Works— 200. 
.Aldrich, Richard — 133. 
Allen, .\ugustus L. — 167, 172. 215. 2i';. 
.Allen, Flavins J. — 237. 
Allen, Horatio — 220, 237. 
.\llen. Joseph, 1S26 — 121, 
Allen. Joesph E. — 161. 
.Allen. Peter K. — T03. 
Allen, William, marriage 1744 — ?o 
Alliger, Mary C— 254. '■" -^ ■ 

Alms House, city— 190. ist hoard— 190. 
Ambler, John P. — 253. 
.Amen. Harlan Page— 256. 
.Amenia — 69, 136. 139, 214. 
.Ame», Charles F.— 103. 
.Anderson, Barrett (of S. C.)— 1^5. 
.Anderson. Martin B.— 167. 
.Andrus, Charles H. — 206. 
Andrus & Dudley— 156, i6r. 
Andrus, E. C. — 161. 
Andrus. Svlvester — 270. 
.\ngell, Charles P.— 251. 
.Angell. Evelyn — 202. 
Angell, Stephen T. — 215. 



Angevine, Elmore & Jaycocks— loi. 

Angevine, Henrj- — 145. 

Annabury & Seaman— 1(11. 

.Anthes, Charles — t()i. 

.\iUhony, Judge All.ird— 178, 101, 1(^4, 

205, 212, 220, 22i. 

Anthony, Theophilus -40, 43, (ty, fxj 

Anti-Rent War— 27. 

.Apokeepsing — 9-15. 

Arlington (Bull's'Head)— 51, 174. 21G. 

.Api)leton, Christopher— 145. 

.\ppleton, J. H. (Springlielil. Ma.ss.)- 

228, 230. 
.Arden, John — y;}, ,88. 
Argus ( .Albany newspaper ) — 91 . 
Armstrong, Ira — 145, 
.Armstrong, John — 74. 
-Armstrong, John. Jr. — 98. 
.Armstrong, Stephen — 107, 108, 153. 
-Arnold, Benjamin — 84, 90, 270. 
-Arnold, Charles N.— 243, 2,0, 270 
Arnold, C. W. H.-i 27. 247. 
.Arnold David— 84, 90, 124, n8, 144, 270 
Arnold. Levi M.— 138, I39'', 161, 172. 

-AriKilil. Nathan- 270. 
-Arnold, William — 78. 
-Arnold, William C— 83, i(n. 170. 173, 

270. 
-Assembly, Representatives in. Colonial 
— -'o. 3^■. State— 57. 61, 92. 97, io,S. 
17^. 224, 225. 
-Assessments, earlv lists— 21, 32; 1831- 

1839—127: 1866-1878—224. 
-Associators ( Revolution)— 36: list of 

signers — 300, 301. 
.Asylum, or "Alonzo 

(novel) — 91. 
-Atkins. -Alfred— 176, 188. 
-Atkins. Benjamin —173. 
Atkins, J. S. (i860)— 161. 
.Atkins, Oliver S.— 263. 
-Atkinson. William — 263. 
Atwater, Edward S.— 24J. 
-Atwater, IVFrs. Edward S.— 248, 266 
-Atwater, Dr. John P.— 219. 
-Atwill. Winthrop — 207. 
-Atwill, Mrs. Winthrop— 206. 
.Austin. Thomas — 145 
Avery, Dr. E. W.— 250. 
-Avery. Henry N. — 222. 
-Avery, Miss Myra L.— 50, 266. 
-Aweng, -Adolpiins (French teacher)- 

I -',V 
-Ayr.iuU, George— 222. 

B 

Babcock. J. C— 171. 
Babcock. Rev. Rufus — 90. 146, 167. 
Backus, Truman J. — 203. 250. 
Badger, Ebenezer — 36, 72, 85. 



Melis 



Bagnall. John j.— 247. 

Bahret, Jacob— 146. 

Hailey, Edmund H.— 146. 

luailey, Elizabeth, marries James Kent- 

54- 
r.ailey, John, Jr.— 32, 54. 62. 
liailey, John N., fire warden 180?— 72 
Bailey, M. & E.— 86. 
l'..iiley, Richard — 222. 
I!;iile\-. Theodonis— 54, 55, 61, 67, 92 
Kadey, William (1792)— 66. 
Bain, h'erdinand R. — 259. 
Bain, Horatio N.— 259,' 
Bain, -Milton — 259. 
Baker, Elijah — 129. 
P.aker, (_). D. M.— 224. 240. 
Baker, Stephen — 172, 174. 
Baker, Valentine — 50, Ckj, y2, 74, 8j 



88. 



107. 



I.?/. 
-104. 



yo, 
101. 
Balding, Joseph, Pawling 1802—77. 
Baldnig (Baldwin) Isaac— 32, 38. 
Balding, Isaac I.— 99, 108, 118, 126, 129, 

161, 190. 
Balding, Richard S.— 86. 
Baldwin's Hotel, 1803—72 
Ballard, Caleb— 216. 
I'.anker, John T.— 162, ,-^. 
r.anks— 

City — 162, 292. 
Dutchess County — 104, . 
E.xchange, (Henry Davis's)- 
Fallkill— 138. 
Farmers' and Manufacturers'— 107. 
First National — 192. 
Manhattan Branch — 89. 
Merchants' — 137, 138. 
Middle Di.strict— 89. loi, 107. 
Poughkeepsie — 107, 292. 
Ponghkeepsie Trust Co.— 292. 
Savings — 107, 292 
Rantle, L.— 266. 
Barculo, Judge Seward— 129, 132. 14^ 

14S. -'/I- 
Barculo, Mrs. Seward— 183. 
Barculo & Swift— 131. 
Bard, Dr. Samuel— 90. 
Baright, Mrs. Edwin D— 251. 
Barker, Caleb — 104. 109, 112, i >2 i '7 

I3«. 145. 
Barlow, Elisha (1821)— 98. 

Capt. Frederick — 107, 112. 



Barnard 

27J. 

Barnard 

T82. 

Barnar( 



Judge Joseph F.— 162 
188. 190. 223. 271. 
Robert .A. — 151. 

Barfiegat — 82, 92, 143. 

Barnes, Charles H. — 252. 

Barnes, David H. — 145. 

Barnes. Dr. John— log. 

Barnes. William — 193. 

Barnes, William R. (1804)— 74 



176. 



316 



I X D E X 



Barnes & Willoughby (1813)— S6. 

Bariictl. J.— 216. 

Bariise, Balthazar (Van Kleeck) — 18. 

Barnuni. Charles P— 92, 103. 

Bariiuni. Dr. H. V\'. — 272. 

Barratt, Hclnuis W.— 253, 254. 

Barratt. Nathan — 145. 

Barry, William H.— i6r. 

Bartiett, Charles— 123, 137, 145. 148, 165, 

204. 
Bartiett, David E.— 165. 
Barllett, Dudley — 161. 
Bartiett, Rev. Edward O.— 183. 
Bartiett, Joseph O. — 161, 162. 
Base Ball — 171. 
Basley, E. F.— 153- 
Basley, Frank E. — 263. 
Bates^ Miss E. — ^219. 
Bayeaux, Henry — 26. 
Bayeaux, Thomas — 78. 
Bayer, George W. — 263. 
Bauer, Joseph — 266. 
Bayley, Dr. Guy C— 225, 250. 
Beacons, in Highlands — 52. 
Beadle, D. W.— 138. 
Beadle. Dr. Edward L. — 208. 210. 212. 
Beadle, Mrs. Edward L.— 193. 
Beadle, John, surveyor of turnpike — 77. 
Beadle, Timothy — 77. 
Bear Baiting— 88. 
Beard, Col. O. T.— ujo. 
Beardsley, Rev. John, First English 

(Episcopal) minister — 23, 30, 31, 

37. 38. 
Beardsley, William — 209. 
Beardsley, William J. — 259. 
Beattys, George H.— 161, 171, 173. 216. 
Beattys, Mary — 251. 
Beck, Edward— 143. 'SS- 
Beckwith, Elizabeth Reynolds— 202. 
Beckwith, John— 67, 121. 
Bedell, Dr.— 209. 
Bedell, Mrs. Mary H.— 251. 
Beecher, Rev. Henry Ward — 193. 
Beecher, Rev. James C. — 251. 
Beekman, Cornelia (wife of Henry 

Livingston) — 29. 
Beekman, Henry, Justice 1735 — 25. 
Beekman, Maria, daughter George 

Clinton — 67. 
Beekman, town of — 69. 
Benjamin, E. P. — 137- 
Betieway, Rzekiel — 170. 
Beneway, P. G. — 208. 
Benton, Joel— 39, 182, 216. 
Berry, George — 188. 
Berrv, Peter N. (Stormville) — 222. 
Berry. William— 175. 186. 
Benson, Egbert— 35. 36. .W. 4'. S4- S7- 

63. 
Best. John — 170, T71. 
Beutel, Martin — 186. 
Bible and Tract Society— 147. 
Biebcr, Frederick — 262. 
Biglin, Bernard, James, John (oarsmen) 

170, T71. 
Billings, Cornelia — 78. 
Billings. Major .\ndrew— 39. 49. 5.^- 

65. 72. 78. 
Bisbee. George — 174. 
Bisbee. Joseph Bartiett— 256. 294. 
Bisbee, Otis— 162, 165, 204, 215, 217, 

223. 294. 
Bisbee, Winnifred F. (Mrs. Joseph B.) 

Bishop." Caleb— 67. 

Bishop, Japthet — 141. 

Bishop, Nathan (Vassar trustee) — 167. 

Bishop, S. H.— 204. 



Bissell, George E. — 250. 

Black, Capt. A. F.— 259. 

I'.lakcslceville — 174. 

r.lakesley, .^maziah- 75, 88. 108. 

P.lanchard, James (i860) — 161. 

I'.livcn, Mrs. H. W.— 165. 

lildiini. George — 90, 92. 

lll(Mini, John — 138. 

I'.oard of Public Works — 244. 

Board of Trade— 217, 223, 234. 

Boardman, Catharine Rogers — 202. 

Bockee, Abraham (1775) — 36. 

Bockee, Abraham, 1836 and later — 115, 

144. 157- 
Bockee, Dr. Jacob — 205. 
Bogardus, E. P. — 20S. 
Bogardus, James W. — 145, 147, 153. 
Bogardus, Stephen H. — 161, 17^, 176, 

'.85- 
Bolding, John M., fugitive slave — 135. 
Bonker, Benjamin ( 1S07) — 90. 
Bonker, Ruth (1807) — 90. 
Boorman, James — 141. 
Booth, George— 74. /S, 83, 84, 85. 
Booth, Henry — 64. 

Booth, Judge Henry (Chicago) — 165. 
Booth, Miss Lydia — 123, 167. 
Booth, Maria Louise — 202. 
Booth. Oliver FI.— 84. 149, 150, 158, 

168, 17a, 188, 216, 220, 222, 233, 248, 

262, 272. 
Booth, Richard— 81. 
Booth, William F. — 262, 264, 272. 
Boshart, Capt. William F.— 176. 
Bostvvick, William H. f.-\menia) — 115, 

145- 
Boswcirth. Miss Arabella— 123. 
Bottnlph, Edward A!- 153. 
Bounties, civil war — 182, 185. 
Bouton, R. AL — 137. 
Bnwniau, Joseph — 67, 83. 
Rowne, Sarah — 207, 251. 
Bowne, James (Mayor) — 86, 109, 123, 

148, T54, 172, 176, 183, 190, 215. 
Bowne, James, Jr. — 157, 222. 
Bowne, J. & Co. — 161. 
Bowne. Charles E. — 172. 
Bovd. David— 8,. 108, 116. 
Boyd. John G.— 85, T16, 206. 
Bovd. Nathan Trowbridge— 86. 
Boyd & Wiltsie (t86o)— 161. 
Bradv, .Martin V.— 237. 
Brainerd, Cephas (N. Y.)— 188. 
Braman. Samuel H. — 222. 
Brant, .•\ndrus — 182. 
Bread Inspector — 74. 
Brett, Francis — 25. 
Brett, .\lbert— 147. 
Brewer, .\nnie, Y. W. C. .\. — 251. 
Brewer, Cornelius — 33, 67. 
Brewer, Nazareth — 67. 
Brewer, Thomas M. — 146. 
Brewster, Gilbert— T12, 119, 122, 127. 
Brickyards — 136. 143. 
Briggs. Edgar .\.— 225. 
Brill. John — 162, 210. 
BrinckerhofF, Dirck — 33, 36. 
Brinckerhoff. John H. — 2.^0, 237, 272. 
Brinckerhoff, Tunis (1849) — 145, 147. 
BrinkerhotY. .\brabam— 25, 38,' 55, 
Broas, Benjamin S. — 171. 182. 
Broas Brothers — 161. 
Broas. Isaac— 135. 
Broas. John — 133. 
Broas. William — 129. 
Brock. John W.— 228. 
Brooks. Charles A. — 266. 
Brooks, David — 61. 
Brooks, John J. — 223. 



Brooks & Marshall— 158. 

Brower, Rev. Cornelius — 78. 

Brower, James — 153. 

Brown. Derrick — 242. 

Brown, Rev. F. D. — 176. 

Brown, George H. (D. & C. R. R.) — 

215, 216. 
Brown. George R. — 188. 
Brow'U. George S. — 171. 
Brown, George T. — 161. 
Brown, Samuel H. — 244, 274. 
Brown, Thomas S. — 158. 
Bruce, Wallace — 244. 
Bruff, Richard P.— 209. 
Brundage, C. B. — 190. 
Brush, Henry — 127, 135. 
Brush, John^Si, 90. 92, 98, 104. 119. 
Brush, Philo C. (1824)— 98. 
Bryant & Stratton — 200. 
Buck, Samuel Wells — 254. 
Buckhout, George — 233. 
Buckhout, Jacob E. — 168, 170. 
Buckingham, Stephen M. — 167, 206, 207, 

20S, 210, 212, 223, 2^1. 
Palmer & Budd— 161. 
Budd, Samuel — 153. 
Buel, Jesse — 91. 

Buel, Judge, of Troy (1845) — 131. 
Buel. Rev. Samuel — 148. 157, 176. 
Buildmgs in 1841 — 310. 
Bulkley, Rev. Benjamin — 78. 
BuUard, Henry W. — 244. 
Bull's Head — See Arlington. 
Burchard, Rev. Jedediah — 121. 
Burchard, Rev. Samuel D. — 191. 
Burgan, Peter — 67. 
Burgess, Edward — 222, 250, 253. 
Burgoyne, Gen. — 41, 42, 43. 
Burling, Lancaster — 49. 
Burnap, G. C. — 158, 176. 
Burnap. Mrs. G. C. — 193. 
Burns, Dr. Edward M. — 274. 
Burritt, Josiah — 99, 129. 
Burt, Grinnell (W. V. Ry.)— 216. 
Burton, Naomi ( 1807) — 90. 
Bushnell, Jennie — 251, 
Bushnell. William — 143. 
Butler, Charles (1824)— 98. 
Butler, George H. — 141. 
Butler, L. P. (Mayor of Boston)— 221. 
Butts, ..\llison — 239, 248, 274. 
Butts, Ralph F— 274. 
Buys, Hendrick — 21. 

c 

Cable, John M.— 129. 

Cady, Rev. P. K.— 207. 

Cairnes, N. G. — 120. 

Cairc, .Adam — 235. 

Caldwell, Matthew, lire warden 1803— 

7-i. 74- 
Caldwell, John H.— 26^ 
Call Rock, also Caul Rock— See Kaal 

Rock. 
Cameron, Simon (Pa.) — 228. 
Canal to Pine Plains — 139. 
Candee, W. A. — 161. 
Candee, John N. — 206, 237. 
Cantine, Peter, Jr. (Revolution) — 41. 
Camach, 1 l.uniab — i6s. 
Campbell Hall -230. " 
Canajoharie — 148. 
Canlield, N. H. (i860) — 161. 
Camion, .\rnout — 182. 
Cannon, George W, — 219. 
Cannon Street — First mention and 

name — 64 ; houses on — 65, 66, 67 ; 

extended — 78, 135 ; paving vote 

(1814)— 307. 



INDEX. 



317 



Card, A. M.— 190. 

Card, George — 244. 

Carey, Egbert — 204. 

Carey, William — 119. 

Carlisle, W. R.— 230. 

Carman, Charles C. — 153. 

Carmcll, town of — 69. 

Carman, Charles — 145. 

Carnegie. Andrew — 220. 

Carpenter & Brother (i860)— 161. 

Carpenter, Hon. B. Piatt— 165, 171, 173, 

174, 205, 216, 225. 
Carpenter, Isaac — 215. 
Carpenter. Jacob B. — 172. 182. 192. 223. 

259- 

Carpenter, J. DuBois — iCw. 239. 

Carpenter, Leonard. Sr. — i.?.S. 161. 

Carpenter. Morgan — 139. 173. 

Carpenter. Miss Sarah M.~i83. I93- 

Carr, Col. Clark E. (111.)— 165. 

Cartland. Alfred L.— 251. 

Cary. Ebenezer — 156. 

Cary. James R. — 117. 

Cassatt, Andrew J. — 220. 

Case, James S.— 188. 

Case, Dr. Walter R.— 244. 

Casper Kill — Indian names and early 
settlement — 10. 12. i6; Gov. Clin- 
ton's place — 48 ; other references — 
68. 84. 

Celebration.s — 4th of July— 59. 131. 200. 
202; Civil War— 191, 193. 197; I^ok. 
Centennial — 263. 

Cemeteries — See graveyards. 

Chadwick, Thomas — 21. 

Chain, to obstrnct river n;ivigation. Fort 
Montgomery — 40, 41 ; West Point — 

49- 
Chamberlain. William — tS2. 
Champlin, Albert H — 149, 171. 
Clianler. Robert Winthrop— 225. 
Chapman. W. R. (N. Y.)— 266. 
Chapinville Wheel Co.— 235. 
Charities— Charity Organization Society 

—251- 
Home for the Friendless — 157. 
House of Industry — 207. 
Home for Aged Men (Vassar) — 

250. 
Old Ladies' Home — 204, 208. 
Charlotte precinct — 23, 35. 
Charier — First village— 70; first city— 
1 50-151; 1874—223, 224; 1883—239; 
recent amendments — 244, 247. 
Chase. Hon. Salmon P— 173- 
Cleaveland, Dr. Joseph M.— 208. 
Cleveland. Stephen — 104. 161. 
Cheney. Albert O.— 176. 254, 264. 
Chichester Chair Factory — 210. 
Chichester, N. O.— 171. 
Chichester. P.— 182. 
Chichester. Samuel — 133. 
Childs, John— 33. 38. 39. 
Clioral Club— 250. 266. 
Christy, Thomas (1838)— 136. 
Churches — 

Baptist. Mill Street— 90. 206. 252. 

Lafayette Place — 146. 206. 252. 
Catholic, St. Peter's— 122, 147; Ger- 
man — 147; St. Marv's — 206, 251; 
Polish— 251. 
Christian Science — 251. 
Congregational — 122. 156. 166. 25 r. 
Dutch (Reformed)— 22. 23, 53, 6.5, 
68. 73. 122. 206. fire 154-156; 
Second Reformed — 251. 
English CEpiscopaD— 23-24. 
Episcopal. Christ Church — 23. 24. 
38, SI, 64, 68, 99, 119, 121, 252; 



St. Paul's — 123, 206; Holy Com- 
forter — 156, 207. 
Friends — 90, 122; Lafayette Place — 
122, 252; Montgomery Street — 
188, 251-2. 
T,utheran — 146. 206, 314. 
Methodist, ist — 90, 122, 314; Can- 
non St. — 146, 252; Hedding — 
147; Trinity — 252; Zion — 147; 
German — 146. 
Presbyterian — 23. 121. 147. 
Univcrsalist — 146. 
Church Street — 64, 77. 13.S. 217. 
Citizens' Gas Co. — 237. 
City Court, created — 247. 
City Hall — 1 19, 197. 198. 
Citv Officers, list of— 312, 313. 
Clapn. Mrs. Egbert D.— 251. 
Clark. George (Newburgh) — 209, 212. 
Clark, Dr. H. F.— 262; biog. sketch— 275. 
Clark, James B. (N. Y. attorney I79t) — 

64. 
Clark. Thomas C— 228. 
Clay, Henry — visit to Pok. — 129-T30; 

steamboat disaster — 14S. 
Clegg, James — 136. 
Clegg. Thomas — 161. 178, 218. 
Clifford. Daniel — 190. 208. 
Clinton Catechism (iSii) — 308. 309. 
Clinton, DeWitt — T03. 
Clinton, George \V.. son of Gov. George 

Clinton, Gov. George. Revolution — 39. 
41, 42, 43, 44; residence in Po'k. — 

45, 48. 65 ; letters written in Po'k. — 

46, 48. 53 ; Constitutional convention 
— 57, 61 ; daughter marries Citizen 
Genet — 61 ; buys house on Cannon 
Street — 66, 67; buys Casper Kill 
farm — 67; head com. to buv hotel — 
88. 

Clinton, Mrs. George — 42. 43. 53. 
Clinton House (Clinton Museum) — 32. 

47, 48. 64. no. 266. 
Clinton, Sir Henry — 41, 42, 43. 
Clinton. Gen. James — 39. 41. 
Clopper. Mrs. Catherine — ,38. 
Clubs— 

Amrita — 222. 

.\pokeepsing Boat — 263. 

Bicycle clubs— 264. 

Dutchess — 264. 

Golf and Country — 264. 

Ice Yacht — 170. 

Poughkeepsie — 264. 

Shatemuc Boat — 222. 

Tennis — 264. 
Cockburn, Will, surveyor — 31. 32. 
Coetus and Coiifercntie dispute — 23. 
Coffin. Alexander J. — 98, 104, 107, irg, 

138. 145. 161. 172. 
Coflfin. Owen T. — 190. 
Coffin. Tristram — 47. 206. J22. 2(13. 
Cogswell. Joseph II. — 161, 171. 182. 183. 
Colden, Cadwallader D.— 55. 66. 67. 
Coller. I. H.— 161. 
Coller, John — 135. 
College Hill — in, 123, 125, 129, 131. 145. 

165. 204. 212. 248, 250. 
College Rowing Races — 264. 
Collingwood, George — 264. 
Collingwood, James — 158. 161. 192. 210. 

219, 220, 222. 
Collingwood. John G. — 263. 
Collingwood. William — 171. 
Collingwood. Wm. A. — 222. 
Collins. Martin W. — 240, 254, 275. 
Colwell, Charles M. — 224. 
Commercial Paint Works — 156. 



Committee of Safety (Revolution) — 39. 

Commons— 30, 31, 32, 33, 66. 

Conunon Council — 153, 198, 210, 244. 

Cone, H. D. — 230. 

Concordia (musical soc.) — 266. 

Confiscations in Revolution — 301. 

Conklin & Bow'ue — 86, loi, 117. 

Conklin, Henry — 104, 108, 115, 117, 123, 
127, 129, 138, 139. 

Conklin, Jacolj — 36. 

Conklin. John — 23, 26, 29, 32, 36. 

Conklin. J. M.— 86. 

Conklin, Matthew (1775)— 36. 

Conklin, Nathan — 86, 104, 107, 112, 117, 
127. 

Conklin, Nathaniel (1775) — 36. 

Conklin, Nehcmiah — 107, 121. 

Conklin, Richard D. — 69. 

Conklin, Storm H. — 171. 

Conklin. Susan (wife of Henry Living- 
ston) — 29. 

Conkling. Roscoe — 165. 

Constatn. S. S. (Vassar trustee) — 167. 

Constitution, protest vs. change 1821 — 
97-98; list of signer.s — 310. 

Continental troops in Po'k. — 51. 

Contraband business (Revolution) — 49. 

Cook, Albert — 104. 

Cook. Temperance (1804) — 78. 

Cooke, John (1798) — 69. 

Cooley. LeRoy C. — 204. 250. 

Coolidge, Daniel F. — 89. 

Cookingham. Jane Maria — 202. 

Cooper. Ananias (1775) — 36. 

Cooper. Ezekicl — 39. 

Cooper. Dr. John R. — 170. 175. 225. 

Copake — 214. 

Copeman, John (1804) — 78. 

Copperheads — 186. 188. 

Cordwainers Society — loi. 

Corlies. George — 109. 138. 20S. 220. 275. 

Corlies, Jacob — 138, 217, 21S, 276. 

Corlies, Walter — 217. 

Corliss, Joseph N.— 218. 

Cornell. R. D.— 174. 

Corning, Erastus — 141. 

Corning, Rev. J. L. — 191. 222. 

Cornish, John (1824)— 98. 

Correspondence, committees in Revolu- 
tion — 34, 35, 40; first Poughkeepsie 
conmiittee — 39. 40. 

Cornwallis. surrender celebrated — 53. 

Cornwell. George — 1^7. 220. 

Corwin. Wm. (N. Y.)— 215. 

Cossum. Charles F. — 263. 

Cottage Hill — 123. 124, 165. 167. 176. 
20s. 314- 

Cotter. Dr. John IL— 263. 276. 

Counties comparison of, in Revolution — 
48. 49- 

County House — 190. 

Court House, first — 19. 20 ; second — 20. 
28; in Revolution — 37. 49. 51; burned 
— 56; Const. Convention — 56. 57: 
burned. 1806 — 75. 76; last — 259. 

Courts. General Sessions established — 
20; suspended during 1777 — 44; 
conducted by John Jay — 49; by 
James Kent — 55. 

Courts Martial — 51. 

Cowlcs. Col. David S.— 182. 

Cowles. John — 98, 120. 

Cowman, Augustus T. — 133. 

Coxe. Robert E.— 157. 

Coxhead. Tohn F. — 156. 

Cramer, Elizabeth .'\nderson — 202. 

Cramer. George E. — 253. 

Crane. Joseph. Jr. — 69. 

Crandler and Crawler. Peter — 25. 



318 



/ N D EX . 



Cranncll, Rarlliolonicw— 24, 30. 31, 36, 

37, 3«. 

Cranncll House, evidence as to its oc- 
cupation by Gov. Clinton — 47, 48, 
65. 

Crary. Rev. Robert Fulton — 157, 207. 

Crawford, George (1813) — 82. 

Crego, Josias (1718) — 21. 

Cronk, Sniitb — 172. 

Crooke, Dr. Cbarles — 65. 

Crookc, Cliarles — 145, 158, 280. 

Crooke. John — 29. 

Crooke, Philip S.— 135. 

Crosby, Rev. Howard — 1S8. 

Crosbv, Julia M.— 207. 

Crosby, Willard H.— 237, 266. 

Crosbv, W. S. & W. H.— 160. 

CrosbV, Prof. William H.— 188. 224. 

Crosby, Mrs. William H.— 183. 

Cruger, John C. — 182. 

Cruniniey, Edward — 182. 

Cunley, Court B.— 235. 

Cunningham, Garwood — 88. 

Cunningham, J. H. — 86. 

Cunningham, Walter— 82, 8(), 88. g8, loi, 
102, 104, 108, 112, 123. 127, 137, 139- 

Currency, State, printed in Po'k. — 50 ; 
Continental — 52; scarcity after 1815 
—95: 1S37— 128; Civil War— 192. 

Curtis, Hon. George William — 168. 

Cusack, John H.— 263. 

Cuvler. Rev. Cornelius C. — 81. go, 121, 



D 

Daly, James — 190. 

Daniels, Briggs & DuBois (i860)— 161. 

Dann. R. — 219. 

Danskammer, deeds to land opposite— 

II. 
Darrow, Sanuiel K. — 188. 
Daugblon, Joseph A. — 2(\^. 
Davids. George W.— 186. 208. 222, 280. 
Davids, Washington — 123. 
Davies, Thomas L — 86, 104. 707. 112. 
124, 127, 140, 148, 157. 160, 162. 173. 
Davies, Mrs. Thomas L.— 183, 193. 
Davies, Thomas — 222. 
Davies. William A— 82, 107. 156, 158, 

162, 188, 207, 209, 220. 
Davies, William (see also Davis) — 8_'. 

108. 
Davis, Andrew Jackson, "seer of I'nugh- 

keepsie"— 1.^8, 139. 
Davis, Fred W.— 162, 212. 
Davis, Prof. George Fred — 166. 
Davis, Gerrct^26. 
Davis, Henry, son of Richard— 82, 90, 

T04. 
Davis, John — 34, 74 
Davis, John TI— T04. 
Davis, Leonard, son of Rioh.ird — 65, 82, 

86, 108. 
Davis, Richard— 28, 31, ^2. 36, 44, 62, 

67. 6g: children of — 82. 
Davis. Richard D.— 119, 13.S. 138. 
Davis, Theodore W. — 212. 
Davis (Davies?) William— 67, 82, 90, 

1.36, 139- 
Dawson, Symmes & Usher — 228. 
Dean, Hon. Gilbert— 172, 182, 190. 
Dean, John W. & Son (i860)— 161. 
Deane, Gilbert A. — 242. 
Debt, city 1873- 1876— 224. 
de Duiscr, Rollef, marriage 17.38 — 30. 
De Graef, Jan. — 21. 

De Graff, Abraham, marriage 1741 — ,30. 
De Graff, Hester, marriage 1735 — 30. 
De Graff, Joseph (1804)— 74- 



De Graff. John (probably son of Jan) 

—26, 28, 31, 36. 
De Graff, Moses — 26. 
De Groff, Amos T. (1830)— 122. 
De Groff, Jacob— 129, 145. 
De Garnio, Elias S. — 209. 
De Garmo, Smith L.— 260. 
Delalield, John— 122, 123, 124, 127, 136. 
de Lang(h) Louwerens, marriage, 1738 

—30. 
De Laval Separator Co. — 234; sketch^ 

276. 
De Lavergne, Benjamin — 90. 
Delemater, John W. — 259. 
De Long, Elias — 67. 
Dennis, A. L. (Newark, N. J.)— 220. 
Dennis, G. L.— 188. 
Depew, Chauncey M. — 190, 240. 
de Peyster. Johnston L. — 225. 
de Reimer, Marthe (wife of Roliert G. 

Livingston) — 29. 
Deremer, Peter, 1804—78. 
De Witt, Jacob, Icftenant. 1734—25. 
De Witt, John, Const. Convention, 1788 

—61. 
Dewey, William — 139. 
Deyo, Jerome V. — 222. 
Dickinson, Charles R. — 251. 
Dickinson, Pomeroy P. — 214. 216, 220, 

230. 
Dimond, C. A. — 190. 
Dix, John A. (Governor) — 225. 
Dobbs, Ely R.— 181. 
Dnbbs, J. H.— 161. 

Dublis, William C— 188. 

D.ibbs, William Lyon — 250. 

l)..l,son. Dr. W. G.— 264. 

Dodge, Mrs. LeGrand— 193- 

Doherty, P. C— 263. 

Donald, Converse & Maynard — 237, 256. 

Dorland, Cyrenus P.— 205. 240. 

Dorland. Peter— 205. 

Doty, Isaac, Jr.— 86. 

Doty, Spencer C. — 160, 182. 

Doty, Thoiuas — 209, 222. 

1 )oughtv, Augustu.s — 222. 

Doughty, Cornell & Co.— 210. 

Doughty, Isaac T.— 102. 

l)..uglUy, Joseph C— 138, 167, 210, 217. 

I )( luybty. Sterling— 222. 

1 ). .u,L;bty, William — 162. 

1 )<juglas, Nathan, of Danbury, Ct.— 62. 

Douw, John de Peyster — 162, 277. 

Downing, A. J., landscape architect— 
14.8. 

Downing, James — 122. 

Downing, Mitchell— 251. 

Downing, Silas — 122. 

Downs, M. S. — 266. 

Draft Riots— 186. 

Drafts in Civil War— 183, 185. 

Driving Park, Doty's Union — 222. 

Driving Park, Poughkeepsie — 222, 225. 

Du Bois Brothers— 86. 

Du Bois, Cornelius— 167, 168, 172, 192. 
208, 209, 217, 222. 

Du Bois, Elias— 67. 

Du Bois (Duboys), Gideon — 26. 

Du Bois, Joel (1824)— 33. 98- 

Du Bois, Lewis— 20, 24, 25, 26, 31, 32, 
36, 38, 64. 

Du Bois, Metthis— 25. 

Du Bois, Pieter, elder Dutch Church — 
22, 24. 

Dudley, Guilford — 251. 

Dudlev, James II.— 153, '90, 208, 217. 

Dudlev, Lavinia (Mrs. Guilford)— 251. 

Dudley & Thompson (i860)— 161. 

Duerstein, Rev. Daniel— 146. 



Du Lang, Frans, c.ipt. 1729 — 24. 

Dunbar. Elan — 135. 

Dunconib, Charles H. — 90. 

Dung.iu, Charles B— 148. 

Duraudo, Stephen — 74, 77. 

Durlin, John (Revolution) — 40. 

Dutch, compared with bjiglish, I'lrst as- 
sessment — 21 ; language in church 
service — 23, 68. 

Dntcher, James E.— 224, 244. 

Dutcher, John B.— 167, 182. 

Dutcher, Lawrence W. — 263. 

Dutchess Comity, organization — 19, 20, 
21. 
Divisions into Wards and Precincts 

— 21, 25. 
Early politics— 57, 61. 
Division after Revolution — 64. 
Division of school money — 68. 

Dutchess County case (1890-242. 

Dutchess Countv Telephone Co.— 2.W. 

Dutchess Hotel, Cannon St.— 88. 

Dutchess Manufacturing Co. — 235. 

Dutchess Ins. Co.— 90, 115. 162, 277. 

Dutton, Samuel — 123. 

Dutton, Samuel B. — 108, 129. 16.^. 

Dwight. William B.— 250. 

Dyckink, Gerardus — 77. 

E 

Eagau, Madison — 170. 

Earlev, Rev. Terence J. — 251. 

Eastman College— i(^i, lyi, iy8, 200, 225, 

254- 
Eastman Park — 200. 

Eastman, Harvey G.— 1(>6, 170, 191. 192. 
194, 197, 201, 206, 212, 214, 215, 216, 
217, 218, 219, 220, 221, 222, 223, 225, 
228. 
Eastmead, Charles — 222. 
Eastmead & Osborne — 237. 
Ebstein, Ludwig— 157. ''"^S. 
Eckert, Jacob I. — 127. 
Eden Hills— no, 148. 
Education (see schools). 
Education, Board of, first elected — 143; 

first appointed — 254. 
Egerton, John — 21. 
Eighmie, George D. — 235. 
Eighmie, Jeremiah — 215. 
Eisel, John E.— i.V?. 
Elmendorf, Rev. Joachim— 250. 
Elmendorf, Lucas (of Ulster)— 95. 
F.ldridge, Judge Egbert Q.— 133- 
Electric Light- 230, 237. 
Elections (see politics). 
Ellison, Thomas — 64. 
Elsworth, Edward— 165, 217, 224, 240, 

249, 2So; biog. sketch — 280. 
Ellsworth 'Greys— 178, 181, 186. 188, 263. 
Elting, .\braham & Son — 131. 
Elting, Henry D. — 95. 
Elting, Irving — 18. 
Elting, Capt. Lnther— 127. 
F.ltiug, Noah — 69. 
Elv, .Andrew — 1.30. 
luiiaus. Albert— 182. 
b"mans. Storm — 242. 
Emerson, Ralph Waldo— 146. 
Emott. Judge James, Sr.— 55, 74, 90. 9', 

98, 107. 11.=;, 135- 
Emott. Judge James, Jr.— 1.38. 152, 153. 
162, 176, 178, 182, 188, 190, 197. 2\o. 
219; biographical sketch — 280. 
Emott, Mrs. James— 183. 
lunott, (S(iuire) William— 36, 38, 49, 

61. 63. 65, 72, 73, 74. 77. 90. 
Engrcm (Ingraham?) Duncan — 67. 
EnlistnuMits, Civil War— 175, 183. 



I N DE X . 



319 



Eno, William (Pine Plains) — 215. 

Ernest, Anthony Hyijiti) — 69. 

Erskine, Robert, letter to Geo. Clinton, 

I77«>— 39- 
Esopus Island (Cline Sopas Island) — 25. 
EureKa mower — 209. 
Euterpe Glee Club — 26(), 
Everitt, Clear — 26, 29, 30. i2, 36, 48, 65. 
Evertson ancestry — 2H1. 
Evertson, George H. — 67, 75, So, 81, 82, 

89, 90, 121. 
Everitt House (see Cliulou House). 
Everitt, John — 73. 

Everitt, Peter — 86, 89, 101. 107, 117, 139. 
Everitt, Richard— 32, 3(), ()9, 72. 

F 

Fall Kill (Relation to name Poughkeep- 

sie) — Chap. 1. 
Fall Kill Improvement — 212. 214. 
I'^allkill Mamifacturiug Co. — 237. 
Family Magazine — 137. 
Fanning, Robert — 131, 304. 
Fanning. William A. — 153, 170, 217. 
Farnuni, Morgan L. — i(x3, 171, 2ig. 
F'arnum, Samuel J. — 167, 170. 
Farrington & Co. — 161. 
Farrington, George W. — 145. 
F'arrington, Walter — 248. 
Farrington, W. R. — 247. 
Fay. Eliphaz — 124, 165. 
Federalists — In Const. Convention — 57, 
61. 

Political campaigns — 61, 91. 96, 102. 

Downfall of party — 103. 
Fenner, Thomas — 123. 
Ferdon, Jacob — 37. 
Ferdon, Johannes — 24. 
Ferguson, Uriah L. — 177, 216. 
Ferris, Mary — 207. 
Ferris, Nathaniel — 104. 
Ferris, Robert M. — 264. 
Ferris. William L. Jr. — 222. 
Ferry — Established^X). 

Incorporated (horseboat) — 95. 96. 

Moved to Main Street— 230. 
Field. George S. — 228. 
Field. John— 38. 74. 86. 
F'ifteenth Sep. Co. — 263. 
F'ilkin, Elizabeth, marriage — 30. 
Filkins, F'rans. judge, etc. — 2S, 30. 
Filkins, Henry ( Sheriff)— 26. 
Fllkintown Road — 24. 26, i2. 55. 70, 78. 
Finch, Henrv — 143, 158. 
Fires— Court House (1785)- 56; (1S06) 

— 75- 
Vassar Brewery, 181 1 — 85. 
Big fire of 1836^-120. 
In 1849-1852— 149. 
Dutch Church — 154, 1^6. 
Lent's (Red) Mills— 156. 
Morgan-Wrigbt block, i860 — 156. 
Pardee block, 1870 — 219. 
Whitehouse factory — 262. 
Glass Works— 262.' 
Reynolds Elevator — 262. 
Gas Works— 262. 
Fire Companies, first mention — 70; ap- 
paratus in 180S — 74. 
Bag Men — 74. 
Engine Co. No. i (1804) — 74; name 

"Protection" — T50; disbanded — 

154, 260. 
Engine Co. No. 2 (Niagara) — 74, 

150, 156. 260. 
Engine Co. No. 3 (Washington)- 

74. \=,o. 154. 
Engine Co. No. 4 (Cataract)— 120. 

149, 150. 154, 156, 260; charter 

members — 310. 



Engine Co. No. 5 (Neptime) — 120, 

149, 154. 156, 260. 

Engine Co. No. 6 (Young America) 

— 154; reorganized as Hose Co. 

— 2bo. 
Hook and Ladder Men — 74; Davy 

Crockett — 120, 149, 150, 260. 
Hose Co. No. 1 (Red Rover) — 120; 

Reorganized as Ph<eni.x — 149, 

2()0. 

Hose Co. No. 2 (Howard) — 120; 
reorganized as Booth Hose — 

150, 260. 

Hose Co. No. 3 (Lady Washington) 
—260. 

Fire Department — 74, 119, 120, 149, 150, 
260; list of chief engineers — 313. 

Fire Engines— 72, 73, 74, 149, I54; 
steamers — 156, 260. 

I'ishkill — In Revolution — 43, 51, 52; af- 
ter Revolution — 69, 130, 140. 208, 

215- 

I'"ishkill Landing — 123. 

F'ishkill and PoughKecpsie churches 

united — 22, 2},. 
b'lagler. \L O.— 161. 
F'lagler. Emma (Mrs. E. O.)— 251. 
Flagler, Henry — 120. 
F'lagler, John P. — 147. 
F'lagler, Joseph — 208. 
F'laglcr, Paul — 206. 209. 
Flagler, Samuel P. — 240. 
F'lcgclar, Zacharias — 20 
Flegelar, Getrui, marriage 1738 — 30. 
Foland, Peter — 259. 
F>)nda, A. (i860) — 161. 
I'-onda. James H. — 137, 138. 
I-'onda, Walter Cunningham — 137. 
Forbus, Alexander— 99, 110, 115. 135, 

138, 264. 
Forbus Hill— 172-174. 
F'orbus, John — 75, 90. 
Forbns, John B. — 119, 122, 124, 162. 
Forby, William — 237. 
Forman, William — 36. 
F'orrest, Robert — 122, 200. 
Forster, R. S. — 161. 
Fort, Major Abraham — ^46, 68. 
F"ort Constitution — 40, 42. 
Fort Montgoinerx- — 40, 41, 42. 
Foster, David C. — 102, 223. 
Foster, D. Crosby — 251. 
Foster & Gale — 149. 
Foster. Thomas — 222. 
Fowler. Benjamin M. — 248. 
Fowler, C. A.— 237. 
F'owler. Charles E. — 212. 
Fowler. George P. (i860)— 161. 
Fowler. John W.— 162, 165. 
Fowler, Milton A. — 205, 209. 
Fowler, Oscar A. — 171, 208. 
Fowler. Sidney — 208. 
Fox, Wm. B.— 188. 
Francis. John ( 1824) — 98. 
Francklyn. Charles G. — 220. 
Frank, Valentine — 160: Jr. — 264. 
Frank. William H.— 253, 262. 264. 
Franklin. Town of — 69. 
Frcar. James B.— 119. ^22. 
Frear, Simeon T. (1804) — 74. 
Freartown — 174. 
Frederick, Town of — 69. 
Freer (Frere), Abraham — 26, 31. 33. 
Freer, Baltns (1798)— 67. 
Freer. Jacobus — 33. 44. 
Freer. John— 32, 38, 39. 63. 68. 
Freer. T.— 67. 
Free Masons, Solomon's Lodge — 50: see 

also Masons. 
I'rench. Colonial wars with — 26, 27. 



I'"rench, Bronson — 66, 109. 

brick, H. C. (Pa.)— 228. 

I'rost, Aaron — 172. 

Frost, Henry S. — 170, 237. 

l'"rost, John (177T) — 32. 

l-'rost, Joseph G. — 205. 

l'"rost. Miss Julia— 252. 

FVost & Parish— 219. 

Im-os1. Robert W.— 216, 217, 222. 

r'rost, .Solomon V. — 98, 104. 1 10, 13S. 161. 

I'riisl, Stephen — 122. 

b'rosl. \Villi.im (1836)— 120. 

I'Vost, William & Son. i8(x) — 161. 

F'uller. Benjamin (1807) — 90. 

F'urman, \\'illi.im — 264. 

a 

Gager. John— 218. 

Gaines, Clemenl C. — 254, 2SS I Biograph- 
ical sketch- 282. 

Gallaudet Home— 251. 

Gary. John — 85. 

Gas lighting — 148, 237; first lamp dis- 
trict— 312. 

Gausman. George — 133. 

Gay, Bartholomew — 67. 

Gaylord, Charles J. — 183, ux). 

Gaylord, Doty & Co. — 210. 

Gaylord, George R. — 182. 220. 

Gay, Luther (Town Washington) — 98. 

Gebrants, Lowerens, marriage 1737 — 30. 

Genet, "Citizen." F'rench minister, mar- 
ries daughter of George Clinton — 
61 ; children of — 67. 

Gentner. Andrew — 1.\^. 

Gerard, W. R.— 14. 250. 

Germania Singing Society — 194. 266. 

Germond. Isaac — loi. 

Germond. Silas — 115. 

Gerow. Joseph W. & Co. — 161. 

Gibbons. William P. — 145. 

Gibbs. W. W.— 228, 230. 

Gidlev. Townsend E. — 122. 

Gilbert. Walter D.— 266. 

Gildersleeve. Elmer D. — 2^2. 

Gildersleeve. Henry A. — 182. 183. 

Gile. Benjamin — 145. 

Giles, John — 127. 

Gifford, Nathan — 117, 14.5. 

Gifford, Sherman & Innis— 149. I57. 233- 

Gill Place, below Pok.— 43. 

Girand. Jacob P. — 204. 

Giraud, Pierre — 191. 

Glass, A. J— 23.^. 

Glass Works, Poughkeepsie — 114. 234; 
sketch — 29 1 . 

Glebe House (Eng. Church) — 24. 

Goetschius, Rev. John H. — 2i. 

Goflf, Edward H.— 237. 

Goshen — 27, 51. 

Goss, Sarah (1S07) — 90. 

Goss, William (1S07)— 90. 

Gow, Prof. George C. — 250. 266. 

Graham. Charles (Revolution)— 39. 

Graham. Col. Morris (Revolution) — 35, 
38. 40. 42. 

Graham, William — 153. 

Granger, Francis — 103. 

Grant, E. F.— 138. 

Grant, James — 98. 104. 107, 123. 

Gray, .-Augustus B. — 225. 

Graves, Orson — 173. 

Graveyards— 23, yi. 76, 90, 109, 121 ; 
Rural Cemetery — 148; Inscriptions 
in Dutch Burial Ground. Main St. — 
.^00; Original plot holders Dutch 
Reformed Burial Ground, Hyde 
Park Road — 311: Baptist Burial 
Ground. Garden St. — 312. 



320 



INDEX. 



Great Harrington (Mass.)— 215. 

Greeley, Horace — 200, 205. 

Green, Jacob — 104. 

Green, Jolin— 95, 112, 117, 122. 

Green, John L. — 1S2. 

Green, William H. — 153. 

Gregory, Rev. G. H.— 252. 

Gregory, Theodoras— 118, 127, 135, 161, 
172, 215. 

Gregory, Mrs. Theodoras — 148, 157. 

Gregory, Uriah — 117, 127, 143. 

Griffin, Angelica (Y. W. C. A.)— 251. 

Griffin, Elihn (Clinton)— 215. 

Grimling, F. — 266. 

Grinnell, lr\'ing — 222. 

Grinnell, Moses H.— 141. 

Grube, Charles — 266. 

Grtibb, John— 146, 216, 218. 

Guernsey, Daniel W. — 205. 

Guernsey, Stephen Gano— 244; biograph- 
ical sketch — 283. 

Gunn, Abel J.— 127. 

Gurney, May — 251. 

H 

Haber, Fragharys — 25. 

Hackett & Williams— 248. 

Haff, William, Revolutionary story— 37. 

Haggerty. James — 171. 

Hague, William (Vassar trustee)— 167. 

Hagcman, Rev. Charles S. — 194- 

Hager, Mrs. Eliza— 148. 

Hager, J. Henry— 157, 186. 

Haight, A. V.— 219, 244, 278. 

Haight, Hiram (i860)— 161. 

Haight, Zebulon — 122. 

Hale, Matthew— 165. 

Hallock, Nathaniel (Milton)— 222. 

Hallovvav, Seneca V. — 225. 

Halliday^ Harrison— 175, I77. i8.> 

Halliwell, George (1806)— 86. 

Halliwell, George W. (i860)— 161. 

Hall, Fdwin— 172. 

Hall, Israel P. (1835)— 120. 

Hall, Tallmadge— 56. 

Halpin, William — 157. 

Halstead, Benjamin — 162. 

Halslcad, F'rank W. — 263. 

Halstead, John G.— 173. 

Ham. Milton (i860)— 162. 
Hamilton, Alexander, visits Pok. — 30; 
in Const. Convention, 1788 — 57, 61. 

Hannnond. Lewis C. (i860) — 161. 

Hanchette. Hon. B. F. (Wis.)— 165. 

Hannah, B. L. — 156. 

Hannah & Storm — 158. 

Hanscom, A. J. — 217. 

Harbottle, John (1807)— 90. 

Harloe, Matthew— 178, 181. 

Ilarloe, William— 168. 209, 225. 

Harper. James (N. Y.)— 167. 

Harris. David — 192. 

Harris, Edwin S. — 253. 

Harris, Ira — 167. 

Harris, Joseph — 82. 119, 127, 129. 

Harris, Joseph C. — 162. 

Harris. Peter— 24. 32. 33- 

Harris, Richard (1804)— 74. 

Harris, Stephen (1804) — 78. 

Hartford, Ct.— 216. 227, 230. 

Hartman. William — 264. 

Hart's Village— 215, 216. 

Harvey, Albert B.— 208. 

Harvev, John C. — 153. 

Harvey, Gen. Thomas W.— 136, 137- 

Hasbrouck, Abraham — 220. 

Hasbrouck. Dr. Alfred— 188. 

Hasbrouck, Frank — 222, 225, 248. 

Hasbrouck, Mrs. Frank — 266. 

Hasbrouck, Henry — 263. 



Hasselberg, L. — 266. 
Match, A. S.— 123, 126. 
Hatch, Rev. Frederick W.— 123. 
Hatch, Mrs. Frederick W.— 147. 
Ilatton, Robert (Revolution) — 49. 
Haubennestel, John — 264. 
llaubennestel, William— 188, 206, 215, 

244, 263. 
Hawkins, Barnet — 145. 
Haupt, R. W.— 264. 
Ilavdock, Mrs.— 193. 
Hayes, Peter P.— 112, 117, 123, 129, 139. 
Hayes & Adriance — 102. 
Haves, Edmund — 228. 
Ha'vman, Capt. R. R.— 18S. 
Haynes, E. M.— 138. 
Hav scales — 83. 
Havt, Peter B.— 219, 237. 
llearttield, Rev. Frank— 250. 
Heath, J. Parker— 217. 
Heath, Charles — 217. 
Heermance and Van den Bogarl tradi- 
tion — 20, 314. 
Heermance, Martin — 240; biographical 

sketch — 283. 
Heermance, Mrs. Martin — 266. 
Hegeman, Henry — 68. 
Hegeman, Isaac, marriage 1740 — 30. 
Hegeman, Sara, marriage 1744 — 30. 
Hegeman, Wallace W.— 205, 200. 212, 

216. 222. 
Helms & Peters (i860)— 161. 
Henderson, Adam — 104, 161. 
Henderson, George R. — 145. 
Henderson, Oliver S. — 153. 
Henderson, Samuel (1824) — 98. 
Hendrickson, Stephen — 49, 65, 88, 123. 
Hengstebeck, Frank — 188, 190. 
Hermans, Hendricks, Capt. (1729) — 24. 
Herrick, Benjamin— 84, 86, 88, 92, 104. 
Herrick & Losee — 248. 
Herrick, Mrs. Mary — 205. 
Herrick, P. 181. 

Herrick, Rufus (Revolution) — 39. 
Herrick, Sarah Jane — 202. 
Hevenor. J. — 216. 
Hewitt, Gideon P.— 107, 108. 116. 117. 

123, 124, 13s, 138. 
Hibbard, David (1826)— 121. 

Hickok, Charles H.— 266. 

llighel. William— 171. 

Highlands, defense of up to fall cif l'"nrt 
Montgomery — 40, 41. 42; new de- 
fenses — 46. 48, 52. 

Hill. David B. ( Governor)— 22S, 240. 

Hill, James T. (i860)— 133. if)i, i/O- 

Hill. Nathaniel— I s6. 

liill, N. & Son— 156. 

Hill, Rev. William Bancroft— 2Sr. 

II ill. William C— 222. 263. 

Hille(|uist, Casper (1804^ — 74. 

Hills, named about town — 174. 

Hinckley. Voice — S3. 

II inkle. Charles J. — 204. 

IHukley. James W. — 240, 242. 244. 259. 

11 inc. C.corge M.— 235. 244. 

Hitchcock. Mark H.— 216. 217. 

Ilobart. John Sloss— 49. 

Ilobart. Powell — 264. 

Ilobson. John (1804, 1814) — 74. 86. 

Hoff, C. C— 170, 173- 

Hoffman. Abraham— 83. 

lloffm.iii. .■\iithony — 36, 67. 69. 

HolTman. Rev. E.— 146. 

HnlYnian. Isaac— 67. 83. 

Hoffman. Martin (1755)- 29, 83. 

Hoffman. Martin, Jr. — 9s. Toi. 

Hoffman. Martin & Co.— 77, 82, 83. 

Hoffman. Robert— 32. 81, 83. 

Hoffman. Tlieodore A. — 242. 



Holdcn, John G. P.— 148, 186. 
Holden, Oliver— 81, 86. 
Holley, A. H. (Gov. Ct.)— 221. 
Holmes, Obadiah (Holmes St. named 

from) — no. 
Holt, Miss Isabella— 123. 
Holt, John, printer in Rev. — 50, 51. 
Home for the Friendless — 157. 
Home Guards (Civil War) — 186. 
Hoogeboom, Bartholomeus — 21. 
Hooker, James — 92, 102, 104, 107, no, 

127, 141. 
Hook Landing — Old name of Xew Ham- 
burgh— 33. _ 
Hooper, John T. — 210. 
Hopewell Junction — 216. 
Hopkins, Benjamin — 162. 
Hopkins, Elias G. — 133, 153. 
Hopkins, John M. — 141. 
Hopkins, Lemuel J. (i860) — 161. 
Hopkins, Col. Roswell— 36, 38. 
I lopkins. Rev. William Herman — 264. 
Horse racing — 168. 222. 
Ilorsfall, J. H.— 217. 
I lorticultural Society — 264. 
Hospitals — Hudson River State — 208. 

St. Barnabas — 207. 

Vassar — 207, 248, 249. 
Hotels— Early— 88. 107. 

Eastern House— 118, 161. 

Exchange House. — 118, 233. 

Forbus House — 98, 161, 174. 259. 

Franklin (Fowler) House — 88, 161. 

Gregory House — 172, 206. 

Mansion House — 123. 

Morgan House — 172, 206. 

Northern Hotel — 118, 126, 161, 190, 

259- 

Nelson House — 2S9. 

Poughkeepsie Hot'el— 78. 86. 88. 98. 
126. 129. 131, 140, 161; list of 
purchasers in 1804 for political 
iu-ail<|uarters — 306. 
Houghton, Charles L. — 222. 
Houston, Andrew — 166. 
Howard, Flarriet R. — 251. 
Howard. Seth, 1814—84. 
Howard, Peter M.— 219, 256. 
Howell. Eugene N. — 235. 240. 260. 264. 
1 lowland. Dr. Anna C— 251. 
I lowland. Gardner R. — 141. 
I lowland. Joseph — 122. 
Hovvland, Joseph (State Treas.)— 314. 
Howland, Peleg — 122. 
Howland. Seneca — 102. 
lloysradt, Willctt— 254. 
Hoyt. Dr. James— Biog. sketch— 284. 
Hoyt. Stephen (1804) — 74. 
Huddleston, the spy, hanged — 52. 
Hudson— 182, 183. 
Hudson River — Efforts to obstruct in 

Revolution — 40. 
Hudson River Iron Co. — 209. 225. 
Hudson River Railroad — See Railroads. 
Hudson River State Hospital — 20S. 209. 
Hudson River Telephone Co. — 237. 
Hufcut, Mrs. Horace D. — 266. 
Hughes. Charles T.— 263. 
Hughes. Christopher (1785)— 56. 
Hughes. Christopher — 162. 209. 
Hughes. Col. (Revolution) — 43. 
Hull. Dr. A. Cook— 209. 
Hull. George D. — 217. 
Hull. John F.— I.VS. 162, 208, 239. 
Hull. J. Frank (John F. Jr.)— 222, 237, 

244. 
Hull. Mrs. J. Frank— 251. 
Hull. William B.— 263. 
Ilulnio. Peter— 224. 263. 
Iluniiihrey, Cornelius (1775) — 36. 



INDEX. 



321 



Humphrey, Col. William — 38, 41, 42. 

Hunt, Freeman, quoted — 118. 

Hunting, Edward — 172. 

Hunting, Isaac (1821) — 98. 

Hunter, Robert H. — 206, 225, 244, 253, 

259- 
Hussey, James (Capt. 1729) — 24. 
Husted, Gen. James W. — 221, 225. 
Husted, Walter I.— 188. 
Hustis, H. H.— 182. 
Hyde, Guy— 89. 
Hyde, Liberty — 161, 219. 
Hyde Park — 43, 84, 117, 170. 



Ibbottson, Henry — 137. 
Ice Yachting — 168-170, 221. 
Improvement Party — 108, 115, 123, 126, 

135- 138. 
Indian names — Chapter 1. 
Indians — 21, 26. 

Innis, Aaron, Sr. — 83. 101, 107, 112. 117. 
Innis, Aaron, Jr. — 170, 171, 188, 2ib, 

220, 222, 227, 263. 
Innis, George— 117, 182, 186, 187, 188, 

208, 20p, 215, 217, 2_'o, 223; biog. 

sketch — 284, 
Innis, Mrs. George — 1(;3. 
Innis, William R. — 263. 
Insurance Companies — 90, 115, 162. 
Iron Foundries — 116, 136. lOi. 
Iron Furnaces — 143, 157. 2^. 



Jackson, Charles — 178, 181. 

Jackson campaign, 1828 — 103. 

Jackson, Joseph H. — 129, 131, 145, 147, 

151- 
Jarnion, John — 30. 
Jay, John — Sent to Pok. 1776 — 40; holds 

court in Pok. — 49 ; Constitutional 

Convention — 58. 59; vote of County 

for Governor — 6i. 
Jennings, Edgar S. — 177. 
Jennings, Eli — 120, 127. 
Jenny, William — 124. 
Jervis, John B. — 141. 
Jewett, Grace Bayley — 202. 
Jewett, Henry — 256, 
Jewett, Herman — 200. 
Jewett, Jacob B. — 141. 148, 151, 188, 190, 

223, 224. 
Jewett, Milo P. — 165. 167, 168. 203, 205. 
Jewett, Nathan H.— 145. 
Jewish Synagogue — 156. 
Jillard, Thomas — 247. 
Jillson, Augustus — 138. 
Jillson, J. A. — 161, 171. 
Johns, Victoria L. — 251. 
Johnson, Albert— 178, 181, 183. 
Johnson, Charles D. — 263. 
Johnson, Samuel (Wap. Falls) — 222. 
Johnston, Mattie F. (Mrs. Flov M.) — 

251- 
Johnston, Floy M. — 142, 222, 263. 
Johnston, F. R. — 173. 
Johnston, Theodore V. — 142, 170. 222, 

239- 
Johnston, Samuel B. — 145, 148. 
Johnston, William S. — 142, 182, 185. 194. 

259- 
Jones, Catharine Rogers — 202. 
Jones, Edward — 141. 
Jones, Daniel — 160. 
Jones, Samuel (1788) — 59. . 

Joy, P. A.— 161. 
Joyner, Nathaniel — 91. 
Juflfrow's Hook — 18. 



K 

Kaal Ruck (many spellings; — 9, 26, 44, 
09, 98. 

Kaess, William — 237. 

Keep, Jan (widow of) — 21. 

Kelly, Henry — 122. 

Kelly, Hon. William (Rbk.)— 167, 168, 
176, 182. 

Kemble, Gouverneur — 141. 

Kendrick, Rev. J. Ryland — 252. 

Kent, George — 133. 

Kent, James, in Pok. — 54, 55, 57; de- 
scribes Const. Convention — 59, 61. 

Kenworthy, Richard — 149, 172, 205, 215, 
217. 

Kerr, James A. — 263. 

Ketcham, James — 173. 

Kctcham, John N. — 115. 

Kctcliam, Gen. John H. — 167, 172, 173, 
182, 190, igr, 195, 197, 200, 205, 
244 ; biog. sketch — 285. 

Ketcham, William M.— 244. 

Keteltas, William— 65. 

Kcttel, Rev. G. F.— 178. 

Kidney's Creek, nortliern boundary city 
—70. 

Kidney, William (1804) — 74. 

Kiessler, P.— 266. 

Killey, Egbert B., Sr. — 73, 104, 129, 130, 
140, 141, 145, 146. 148. 

Killey, Mrs. Egbert B. (Julia A.)— 157. 

Killey, Egbert B. Jr. — 171, 172, 242. 

Kimball, Dr. Grace N. — 251. 

Kimball, H. — 219. 

King, Andrew — 216, 218, 224. 

Kingston — Burning of — 43, 44; Legis- 
lature there — 46, 51 ; other refer- 
ences — 27, 39, 89, gi, 107, 210. 

Kinney, John — 56. 

Kip, Matewis — 26. 

Kip. Jacob. Jr.. Capt. 1729 — 24, 25. 

Kip, Rd., justice 1729 — 24. 

Kipp, James H. — 259. 

Kirchner. Charles — 220, 266. 

Kirchner Hall — 219, 262. 

Kirkwood, James P. — 212. 

Knapp, Abraham P. — loi. 

Knapp, George H. — 173. 

Kneass, Strickland — 220. 

Knickerbocker. Lowerens, Capt. lyjg — • 
24. 

Knights of Columbus — 259, 263. 

Knights of Pythias — 263. 

Knower & Hobson, hat manufacturers, 
1 798 — 69. 

Korner. Lieut. — 188. 

Kosciuszko, visit to Clinton at Pok. — ^49. 

Kiibn, A. — 266. 



Labout, Sovryn, "the Baker," reference 
in Sanders-Harmse patent — 13, 16, 

~ 17- 
Lacounte, Boudewvn — 23. 25, 31, 76. 
Ladd, Rev. H. O., ref. to "Founding of 

the Episcopal Church in Dutchess 

county" — 23. 24. 
Lafayette, visits Clinton at Pok. — 49; 

visit to Pok., 1824 — 98, lor. 
Lamp District, 1st — 312. 
Lamper, P. — 219. 
Lamoree, George — 162, 174. 
Lamoree, Nathaniel — 209. 
Lancaster School — 90. 144. 
Land grants, patents — 12-18, i2. 
Land titles questioned — 32. 



Landings — Lower (R. Davis's, Pine St.) 
—28. 31. 82. 117, 174, 210; Main St. 
(Kaal Rock)— 26, 69, 77, 82, 83, 117, 
210, 230; Readc's Landing — 77; 
Union — 28. 63, 81, 82. 117, 143; Up- 
per (Hoifman's, Mill St.)— 82, 83, 
95, 117, 174. 210, 230; others — 82. 

Laiidon, Francis G. — 225, 265, 285. 

Landon, Jonathan — 36, 286. 

Lane, Dr. Charles E. — 247, 257, 286. 

Lane, John G. — 234. 

Lane, William J. — 234. 

Langdon, John (Revolution) — 39. 

Lansing, see al.so Lassing. 

Lansing. Derrick vs. D. Rus.sell — 131. 

Lansing. Gerrel, Indian mortgage — 11, 17. 

Lansing, Gerret (1798) — 67. 

Lansing. Gerret P. (1859) — 171. 

Lansing. W. C.— 242. 

Lansingh, Pieter, Indian deed to 1683 — 
10; petition for patent — 12; "Peter 
tlie Brewer," ancestor of Lansing, 
Law.son and Lossing families — 16. 

Lapliam. Thomas — 133. 

La Koy. Simeon — 26, 30. 

Lasher. Haiglit & Kelley— 235. 

Lassing (Lassen). .-Vbraham — 26. 

Lassing. Isaac — 26. 30. 

Lassing. Isaac. Jr. (1771) — 3;^. 

Lathrop, Edward (Vassar trustee) — 
167. 

Laufersweiler, lulward — 264. 

Lawrence, August, shipbuilder. Revolu- 
tion— 39. 49. 

Lawrence. Rev. Edward \. — 250, 251. 

Lawrence. Daniel — 49. 

Lawrence, William A. — 253. 

Lawson. Peter L. — 67. 

Leach & Co. (contractors) — 216. 

Leary. Dennis (Newburgh) — 170. 

Leary. William F. — 240. 

Lee, Ann, imprisoned in Pok. — 48. 

Lee, Per Lee A. — 251. 

Lee, Samuel (1826) — 121. 

Lee, William — 157. 

Lee, William Morgan — 224, 263. 

Lefever. Jacob — 244. 

Leggett, Thomas H.— 188. 

Legislature — Meetings at Pok. in Rev- 
olution and later — 47, 49. 51, 56, 64; 
see also Assembly. 

Lloyd. Percival M.— 252. 

Lloyd, Thomas S. — 209. 

Lent. David B. — 86, 120, 121, 123, 127, 
135. 141, 156. 

Lent, George B. — 162, 192. 223. 

Lent. John R. — 153, 156. 161. 237, 260. 

Leonard, Moses G. (of N. Y.) — 140. 

Le Roy. Daniel — 170. 

Le Roy, Francis — 33, 78. 

Le Roy, Fransoy (Frans) — 21, 24, 26. 

Le Roy, Peter— 67. 

Lester, Catharine — 82. 

Leslie. Col. John R. — 18[, 204. 

Lewis, Barent — 25, 32. 

Lewis, D. — 173. 

Lewis, James (1775) — .^6. 

Lewis, J. F. — 157. 

Lewi.s, Jonathan (1775) — 36. 

Lewis, Leonard, judge, etc. — 20, 21, 28, 
,30. 3f. 78, 121. 

Lewis, Leonard B., collector 1803 — 72. 

Lewis, Miles K. — 259. 

Lewis. Gov. Morgan — 98, 306. 

Lewis. Thomas — 21. 

Libcrtv Poles (177s)— 35, 541 Civil 
War— 178. 



322 



/ A^ DEX . 



Library. Pok. — 90, 145, 146; Adriancc 
Memorial — 253; Library Trustees — 
-'53- 

Lindley, Alfred F.— 171, 188. 262. 

Littainiirc. Francis — j6. 

Littel, luiilen T. (N. Y. architect )— 206. 

Little Britain — 43. 

Little (".iants — 173. 

Livingston. Beekman — 53. 77. 

Livingston, Catharine. \vi<lii\v of ("lillicrt 

Livingston. Cornelia, marries Andrew 
Billings-55. 

Livingston, Oil.. Major 1734 — 25. 

Livingston, Gilbert (son of Henry) — 
29. 30; in Revolution — 36. 48; part- 
ner of James Kent — 54; Const. 
Convention — 57. 61 ; later — 65. 60, 
74. 304. 

Livingston, Henry (Colonial County 
Clerk) — 25, 26, 29. 32, 148; children 
of — 30; division of property, 1800 — 
39. 77- 

Livingston, TIenrv, Jr., siirvevor — 64. 65, 
68, 70. 

Livingston, H. A. (on map) — 71. 

Livingston, Henry A. — Sq. 90. 98. 107. 
1 27, 1 29, 209. 

Livingston, Col. Henry 15. (Revolu- 
tion ) —,^S, 39. 

Livingston, James — 2i. 31, 32. t,^. ,36. 

Livingston, James G. (Sheriff i/(n-(x)) 
26, 29. 

Livingston, Rev. John H. — 53. 68. 107. 

Livingston Mansion, built — 29: struck 
by shot, Revolution — 44. 

Livingston, Peter R. ( 1819) — 97, 98. 

Livingston, Philip J. (last Colonial 
SheritT)— 29, .33, 35. 

Livingston, Robert Henry — 29. /2. 

Livingston. Robert R., Jr. (Chancellor) 
— 35 ; Const. Convention — 58 ; can- 
didate for Governor — 61. 

Livingston, Robert G. (son of Robert 
L.)— 29. 

Livingston, Robert 1. (of Clermont and 
Pok. )— 29. 69, 71, 83. 

Livingston, Samuel, in British Navy. 
Letter from to Henry Livingston^ 
27. 

Livingston, Sidney M. (1830) — 122. 

Livingston, Walter (1791)— 69. 

Livingston, William T. — 120. 

Lockwood, J. Arthur — 263, 276. 

Lockwood, John — 107. 122. 

Locomotive Fngine Factory — 136, 157. 

Looniis, Rev. Henry A. — 259. 

Lossing, Benson J. — 104, t67. i?^^. 182, 
208. 

Lossing, Mrs. Ben.son J. — 183. 193. 

Lottery, The, in Pok. — 99, 102. 

Louis Phillippe, in Poughkeepsie — 124. 

Low, ."Xaron, 104. 

Low, Jacob — 26. 

Low, John — 33. 

Lowell. James Russell ((|uolation) — 139. 

Lown, David — 157, 286. 

Lown. I'Vank B — 222, 225, 226, 233, 240, 
248, 254, 2(X); biog. sketch — 286. 

Loyalists (see also Tories) — 35. 

Lucas, C. S.— 143. 

Luckey, Charles P. — 138, i(5o. 

Luckev. James — 26. 

Luckey, Piatt & Co.— 160, 256, 286. 

Luckey, Samuel — (n). 

Ludlow, Gabriel H. — 26. 

Lndlow, George — 64. 

Ludlow, Rev. Henry G.— 147, 14S. 

Lnmb, George W— 209, 2.';8, 287. 



Lumli. Levi — 209, 259. 

Lull. Rev. De Los — 191, 193. 

Lyceum — 145. 146, 165. 

Lvman, G. K. — 133. 

Lynch, C. E.— 235. 

Lyster. Peter — a. 

M 

Mabbett, James — 115, 21^;. 
.Macdonald, Charles F.— 228. 
MacC.eorge. William — 145, 165. 204. 
.\l.-ick. John li.. biog. sketch — 287. 
.Macphcrson. Thomas J. — 266. 
Madison, Charles H. — 251. 
Magoon, E. L. (Vassar trustee) — 167. 
Maison, Gen. Leonard — 99, T02. lo), 120, 

129, t3i, 141. 
Maison. Peter R. — 86, 89, 90. 
Mallory, David S.— 161. 
Maloney, William R. — 247, 263. 
Manchester — 84. 

Mann, Rev. Alexander M. — 147. 148, 154. 
Mann, Mrs. Alexander M — 148. 
Manney, John, assessor 180.3 — 72. 
Mansion Square — 123. 125, 200. 
Manufacturing, before 1815—83, 84, 86; 

1815-1837—95. 11.5-117; 1837-1854— 

1.36. 143: 1854-1S61 — 157, 158, 161; 

1865-1S73 — 209, 210; recent — 233- 

237' 
Ma|)s of Pok., 1798—8; 1770—31: 1790— 

65; 1799—71: 1837—111. 
Marble, Byron M.— 266. 
Marble, James F. — 112. 
Marglea. Chris (1804)— 74. 
Marill, Dr. J., biog. sketch— 288. 
Market, village dispute over — 73. 
Market St. named— 67, 77, 305; paved — 

108, 310. 
Markle, George (1803)— 73. 
Marriages (Colonial) — 30. 
Marsh, Silas (i775)— 36. 
Marshall. D. C— 172. 
M:irshall, Edwin — 171. 
Marshall, F.lihu (Revolution)— 49. 
M.Mrshall, George C. — ijy. 145. 
Marsh.ill. James — 217, 218. 260. 
Mar^h.ill. Joseph H.— 208. 
.Marshall. Robert— 117. 
l\Lartin, Charles— 266. 
Martin, Henry S. — 153. 
Martin, Jeremiah (1814) — 86. 
Masons, Free — 50, 103, 104, 194; Pok. 

Lodge — 133; Triune Lodge — 263; 

Masonic Temple — 263. 
Mathews. John H.— 188, 210. 
.Matthews, Samuel — 162. 
.Matthews, DeWitt C.— 251. 
Mavvenawasigh, Indian name of Wap- 

pingers Creek — 12, 15, 266. 
Maxlicld, John — 25. 
Mayors, list of— 312, 313. 
.\laxon, Joseph, 1804 — 74. 
Maurice, Charles S. — 228. 
.McCabe. Charles — 239. 
.McCaffertv, Robert— 259. 
McCandless, Gardner F. (N. Y.)— 220. 
McCarthy, James — 174. 
Mccgrierv. Encd, marriage 1738 — 30. 
McClellan. Charles H. P.— 14S. 165. 
McConnell, Robert— 182. 
McDonald. Jack— 215. 
McDougall, Gen. .Alexander — 51. 
McDulTec, D. (editor 181 1)— 91. 
McDutfie, Sharp & Proper— 136. 
.Mclu-kron, Rev. G. M.— 194. 
McKnery, Sen. L. B. (of La.)— 165. 
McEuen, Malcom — 49. 
McGee, R. J.— 263. 



Mclntyre, Patrick — 210. 

McKeen, Levi — 74, 76, 89, 90, 123. 

McKesson. John (Revolution) — 41. 

McKinney, James — 173. 

McLellan, George W.— 165, 183. 

McLean, John — 161, 224. 

McLeod, .\rchibald A. — 230. 

McSweeny, Rev. Edward — 206. 

McWhinnie, Thomas — 209; biog .sketch 
—288. 

Medical Society, Dutchess Conntj' — 90. 

Medlar, Aaron — 33. 

Meeks, Edgar M.— 222. 

Meeks, Richard C— 223. 

Meetings (public), village — 73, 119, 128. 
148, 198; political — 131, 172-173, 198; 
Civil War— 176, 178, 183. 

Meinecke, P. — 266. 

Melrose, J. D. — 219. ■ 

Mendelssohn Society — 266. 

Merritt, Isaac — 112, 138, 216. 

Metzler, E.— 86. 

Meyer, Capt. B. F— 263. 

Meynema, Rev. B. 2ud pastor Dutch 
Church — 22. 

Michaels, Lieut.— 188. 

Miles, Mrs. William A. — 266. 

Militia, Dutchess, Colonial officers — 24. 
25, 27; Revolution — 38. 40, 41, 42, 
51, 52; Officers, 1786-1799 — 302, ,303; 
War of 1812—92; 2ist Reg.— 175, 
188, 262; 19th and 1 5th Sep. Co's. — 
262, 263. 

Millard, J. H.— 248. 

Millbrook— 216, 234. 

Miller, .\lex. Litch— 49. 

Miller, Dr. C. D.— 233. 

Miller, Henrv— 84. 

Miller. Henrv C— 161. 

Miller. John W. (186a)— 161. 

Miller, Leonard C. — 222. 

Miller, Peter— 68. 

Mill Ponds— 31, 83, ill. 212, 214. 

Mills, first saw mill — 10. 16, 18; early 
grist mills — 28, 30; in Revolution — 
50, 52; after Revolulion — 69, 71 ; af- 
ter iSoo — 77, 83, 84. 101. 156; see 
also Red Mills. 

Mills. James— 86. 99. 127. 

Millon l\Trv— (19. 

Mitclu-ll. Isaac, editor 



nid 



Uhor — 62. 



91 



Mitchell, Maria — 203. 

Mitchell, Thomas — 77. 

Mitchell, Robert — 129. 

Mohonk (Lake) — 205. 

Montgomery, Gen. Richard — 36, 39. 

Moravian Mission to Indians — 26, 27. 

Moore. James (1803) — 76. 

Moore, J. Leverett — 138. 

Moore, John — 190. 

More, Charles C— 263. 

Morehouse, Col. .Andrew — .38. 

Morgan, Caleb — 129, 145, 156, 210. 

Morgan, Edwin D. — 104, 141, i68. 

Morgan, George— 204, 206, 2aS, 215. 

Morgan Lake — 210. 212. 

Morgan, Peter B., fire wanlen 1803—72. 

Morgan. Richard D. — 140. 

Morgan. Richard P. — 259. 

Morgan, William S.— 104, US. '72. 

Morgan, Mrs. William S.— 183, 193. 

Morris, Henry — 149. 

Morris, Henry W. — 172, 218. 

Morschauser, Charles — 240. 

Morsehauser. Joseph — 244. 247; biog. 

sketch— 289. 
Morse. Prof. S. F. R— 140. 147, 167. 
Morton. Mrs. Levi P.— 68, 78. 



INDEX. 



32o 



Morton, Thana — C9. 

Morton, Thomas (Ncvvlnirgh) — 222. 

Moss, Joshua — ii. 

Mott, Capt. of riHemen 1796 — 62. 

Mott, Ebenezer — 69. 

Mott, John — 77. 

Mott, Thomas (1799) — 66. 

Mailer, Frank— 188. 

Mulrein, James — 161, 2ig. 220. 

Mnntross, John, Capt. ( 1729) — 24. 

Murphy, Charles — 158. 

Murray, John — 81. 

Museimi, Poughkeepsie — 166. 

Myer, Peter B.— 98. 

Myers, Fannie S. — 266. 

Myers, Henry (Pine Plains) — 222. 

Myers, Henry D. — no, 122. 137, 138, 217, 

224. 
Myers, John S. — 102. 121, 219. 
Myers, Matthew J.— 138, 145. 
Myers, Michael J. — 217. 
Myers, Nathan — 90. 
Mvgatt, Ambrose — 162. 
Mylod, John J.- 242, 263. 



N 



262, 2S9. 



Nagengast, George — 261, 

Nash, Isaac — 129. 

National Guard — See Militia. 

Neilson, Samuel, dies in Pok. 1803 — 7i. 

Nelson, Mrs. C. M.— 251, 289. 

Nelson, Homer A. — 176, 182, 183, 184, 

191, 205, 216, 220, 248, 259, 264. 
Nelson, Helen J. (Mrs. Homer A.) — 

251- 
Nelson, J. M.— 108. . 
Nelson, John P. — 156. 
Nelson, John — 74. 
Nelson, Capt. Joseph — gi, 92. 
Nelson, Richard — 92. 
Nelson, Thomas — 67, 72. 78, 89, 91. 
Nelson, Hon. William — 93, 289. 
Nesbitt, F. J. — 263. 
Neville, Dorsey — 237. 
Nevins. John T. — 263. 
Newbold, Fred R. — 264. 
Newbold, Thomas — 240. 
New Bedford, Mass. — 112. 
New Brunswick — Tories settle there — 38. 
Newburgh — 2y. 44, 50, 92, 117, 208. 210. 
Newcomb, Zacheus — 77. 
New England Society — 264. 
New Hamburgh — 33, 82; disaster — 206. 
New Hampshire, ratifies Constitution — 

58. 
Newhouse, Jonathan (1807) — go. 
New Paltz— 17, 18. 69, 124. 143, 216. 
Newspapers — Advertiser — 2ig. 

American (1845) — 133. 

American Farmer (1798) — 62, gt. 

Anti-Mason — 104. 

Bulletin (1st daily, i84g)— 148. 

Casket — 56, 104. 

Courier, Sunday — 205. 

Democrat — 133, 172. 

Dutchess I'^irmer — 242. 

Eagle — 104; miited with Journal — 
131: location — 161, 2ig; daily 
established— 174; sketch — 278. 

Enterprise (Daily Evening') — 242. 

Farmer (1806) — 91. 

Fire of the Flint (Lossing) — 131. 

Gazette — 156. 

Guardian (iSoi) — 91. 

Herald, Republican (181T')— gi. 

Inquirer — 104. 

Intelligencer — 103. 104. 

Journal, Holt's (Revolution) — 50, 
51- 



Journal. Poughkeepsie — 55, 56, 62, 
86; P. Potter — 91; supports 
Jackson — 103 ; Conservatives — 
129-131; united with Eagle — 131. 

Journal, Republican (I7g6) — 62. 

News, Daily — 205 ; News - Press, 
News-Telegraph — 240. 

Observer — 92, 103. 

Political Barometer — gi. 

Poughkeepsian, Daily — 186, 205. 

Poughkeepsie — 247. 

Press, Daily— 148, 186, 240. 

Republican — 104. 

Star (Daily Evening) — 247. 

Telegraph — 102, 103, 104, 172. 174; 
united with News — 240. 

Temperance Safeguard — 133. 

Thompsonian — 133. 

True American — 103. 
New Windsor — 39, 46. 
Nichols, Thomas J. — 148, 205. 
Nilan, Rev. James — 251, 253. 
Niver, Conrad (Ancrani) — 215. 
Nolly, Joseph^g. 
Norman, D. R. — 171. 
Norris, David — 146. 
North [''.ast (Town of) — (x). 
North. Reuben- 162. 
North. Roliert, letter from Albany— 48. 
Norton. Thomas (1792) — ()6. 
Novitiate of St. Andrew — 251. 
Noxon, Bartholomew — 26, 32, t,},, 36, 65. 
No.\on, Robert — 67, 72, 90. 
Nye, l''benezer — 102. 

O 

( )akle\ . George P.— 73, 74, 82, 83, 95, 99, 
J03. 107. 108, 112, 120, 123, 124, 126, 
127, 137- 

Oakley, Jesse— 61, 69, 72, 74, 83, 86, 90, 

lOI. 

Oakley, John H.— 89. 

Oakley, Judge Thomas J.— 55, 83, 92, g8. 

O'Brien, John — 225. 

Odd Fellows — 133, 194, 263. 

OdcU, Casper L.— 263. 

Office Holders (list 1729)— 24, 25. 

Ogden, J. & J. (i860)— 161. 

Oosterhout, Lowerens(Capt. 1729) — 24. 

O'Rourke, John F.— 228. 

( )rton, James — 204. 

Osborne. Edward B.— 133, 171, 172. 176, 

222. 22$. 242. 
Oslerliout. Jan (Ensign 1734) — 25. 
Ostrander. Charles — 31. 
Oslrander. (jideon — 24. 
Ostrom. Jan (1718) — 21. 
Ostroni. Hendrick— iT 
Oswego, N. Y.— 166. 
Otis, John H.--153. 154, 175. 182. 
Overbaugh, Abraham (1830) — 122. 
Overbaugh. Helen — 127. 
Overbaugh it Stanton (i860) — t6i. 
Owen. Joshua — 32. 



Paine, Arthur B.— 228. 

Paine, Ephraim — 36, 49. 

Paine, George W. — 172. 

Palmaticr, Jacobus — 32. 

Palmaticr, John — 67. 

Pahnatier, Magiel Sr., Jr., and Pieter — 

21. 
Palmaticr, Michael — 22. 
P.ilmatier, Peter — 22. 
Palmer, Abiah W. (Amenia)— 205, 209. 
Palmer, Enos H. — 153. 



Palmer, Nathaniel — 175, 177, 197. 

Palmer, Robert N. — 153, 217, 218. 

Palmer, Dr. Stephen, biog. sketch — 290. 

Palmaticr, Rebecca (1740J — 30. 

Pardee Block — 219. 

Pardee, Stephen— 81, 82. 

Pardee, Nelson J. — 170. 

Parish, Thomas — 186, 190, 222. 

Parish, James — 222. 

Parker, Amasa J. — 172. 

Parker, Dr. Edward H.— 207, 216, 239, 

251, 290. 
Parker, George (1807)— 78, 90. 
Parker, George 11. — 171. 
Parker, George— 182, 209, 216, 217, 220, 

223. 
Parker, John G. — 129. 
Parker, Thomas — 188. 
Parsons, Frederick T. — 103, 104. 
Paving, cobblestones — 81, 108; signers 

of petitions — 307, 308; asphalt — 244. 
Pawling (Town of) — (x). 
Payii, Lewis V. — 240. 
Payne & Fowler — 161. 
Payne, John C. — 171. 
Payne. 'Thomas R. — 138. 
Pearce, John — .82. 

Pease, Albert S. — 130, 14S. 181, 186. 
Pease, E. R. — 219. 
Peasley. George — 215. 
Peck, Elisha — 141. 
Peck, Richard— 182. 
Peck. Rufus— 77. 

Peckham, Dr. Alva L., biog. sketcli— 291. 
Peek, George (Revolution) — 49. 
Peekskill — 43. 50. 
Pelham. Stewart — 204. 
Pells, Abraham (1798) — 70. 67. 
Pells, Evert— 67. 
Pells. Francis (1804)— 78. 
Pells, John E.— 74, 78. 
Pells. Zephaniah— 86. 
Pels, Hendrick— 21, 30. 
Pels. Michael — 33. 
Pelton. Charles M.— 115. 136, 151. 
Pelton, George P.— 166, 216, 217. 220, 

227. 
Pelton, Henry V. — 222, 250. 
Pelton, Mrs. Henry V. — 250. 
Pelton. John W. — 222, 264. 
Peudcrgast. William, trial — 27. 
Pendleton, Judge Edmund H. — 104. 
Pennoyer, Frederick — 83. 
Perkins, John S. — 157. 
Perkins. Lithgow T. — 188. 
Per Lee. Edmund — (Sg. 
Peters. Charles — 266. 
Peters, Charles C— 171. 
Phillips, Adelaide— 266. 
Phillips, David— 81, 84. 
Phillips, Rev. John — go. 
Phillips, Marquis de LaFayctte (1826)— 

121. 
Phillips (Town of) — 69. 
Phinney, F. S. — 161. 
Phanix Horse Shoe Co. — 227. 
Pier, Sylvester — 251. 
Pierce, George T. — 167, 176. 
Pierce. Marinus — 108. 117. 
Pilgrim, Dr. Charles W — 208. 
Pincknev. William — 185. 
Pine Hall— 176. 182, 188, 193. 206. 
Pine Plains — 139, 143, 214. 
Pine, Col. Henry— 129. 131, 
Pine, Dr. Per Lee— 145. 150, 176. 18S. 
Pine. Samuel — 117, 122. 
Pine Street— 28. 67. 77. 
Pinkney. Samuel — 67. 
Pitcher, Cornelius — 224. 



324 



I N DE X . 



Pittsbury Church (Washington Hollow) 

Pitts, Elias — 13J. 

Place, Charles — 171. 

Plank Roads— 143. 

Piatt, Dr. A. H.— 133. 

Plait, Juhnund — z^i- 

Piatt, Edmund P. — 160, J51 ; see also 

Luckey, Piatt & Co. 
Piatt, Mrs. Edmund P. (Mary E. Bart- 

lett)— 251. 
Piatt families — 61, (note) 62. 
Piatt, James B. — 217, 244, 251. 
Piatt, Mrs. Jame.s B. (Emma Bartlett) 

—251- 
Piatt, Isaac — 102, 103, 117, 129, 130, 133, 

138, 140, 141, 145, 173, 182, Iti5. 2'i5, 

216. 
Piatt, Airs. Isaac — 157. 
Piatt, Isaac I. — 190. 
Piatt, John I. — 57, 157. 174, 188, 191, 

216, 220, 222, z'i, 2^7. 22^, 230, 2i7, 

240, 251. 
Piatt, Jonas (son of Zephaniah ) — 55, 77, 

102. 
Piatt (Platto ?), Thomas— 108. 
Piatt. Zephaniah— 32, 34, 35, 36, 39, 44; 

Judge, after Revolution — 55, 63 ; 

Constitutional Convention — 57, 59; 

Founds Plattsburgh — 61, 62. 
Platto, Thomas (i860) — 161. 
Platto, Capt. William— 197. 
Pleasant Valley — 22,, 43. 215. 
Plough, Jacob— 21. 
Phmkett, Michael— 223. 
Polhenius, Rev. A. — 145. 
Political Parties — 

Abolitionist — 172. 

Anti-Clintonian — 97. 

Anti-I'"edera!ist — 56-62, 88. 

Anti-Masonic — 103, 104, 133. 

Clintonian — 91, 97, 98, 308. 

Conservative C1821) — 98, 309; 
(1838)— 129. 

Democratic — ^103, 129-133. 153; (in 
war) — 176, 186, 188-191; re- 
cent — 205, 224, 239-244. 

Federalist — 56-62, 91, 92, 96-98, 102, 
103. 

Free-Soil (soft shell. Barnburners) 
— 133. 17-2. 

Liberal (Greeley) — 205. 

Loco-I'oco — 128-130. 

Prohil)itionist — 172. 

Republican ( JefFersonian — 62, 88- 
91, 92, 102-104; (modern) — 172, 
174, 188-191, 20s, 206, 224, 225, 

239--'44- 

Native American (Know Nothing) 
—133. 172. 

Whig— 104. 128-133. i.=;3. 172. 
Politics, Early— 61, 62, 68. 

1800-1815 — 91, 92. 

1 8 1 s - 1 83 7 — 96-98, 1 02- 1 04. 

1837-18.S4— 1-'8, 135. 

1854-1861—153. 1.54. 171-174- 

1861-1865—186. 188-191. 

1865-1873—205. 206. 

Recent — 223-225, 239-247. 
Police — 150. 171. 239. 
Police Commissioners — 239. 
Polk. George W.— 158, 168. 170, 215, 222. 

228, 233. 
Pomeroy, George — 138. 
Population statistics — 306; comparisons, 

etc. — 19, 27. .54, 210. 
Poquosin. Pacaksing, etc., Indian names, 

discussion of derivation of Pough- 

kecpsie — 12. 15. 



Porter, Rev. E. S. (Chatham)— 145. 

Post, Edward — 170. 

Post, N. Y. Evening, about Pok. (1838) 

—135- 
Post, James S. — 172, 219. 
Postmasters, list of — 311. 
Post Road, early location, etc — 18, 19, 

20, 27; map (1770)— 31 ; map (1798) 

— 8, 68; Highland Turnpike — y^, 78. 
Post Office, location — 56, 86, 130, 197; 

new — 259. 
Potter, Bishop Horatio — 102, 157. 
Potter, Paraclete — 86, 90, 91. 98, 101-103, 

112, 119, 123, 129, 135. 137, 138. 
Potter, Rufus — 119. 
Poucher, Dr. J. \V. — 244 ; biog. sketch — 

291. 
Poughkeepsie Bridge, planned — 219-221 ; 

finished — 227-230. 
Poughkeepsie Iron Ct)nipan\' — 143, 2^,^. 

234- 
Poughkeepsie — 

Meaning and derivation of word — 
9-15- 

Population — 306. 

Precinct formed — 25. 

Resolutions (1774) — 34. 

State capital — 46. 

Village incorporated — 69, 71 ; vil- 
lage trustees — 304. 

City incorporated — 151. 

City government organized — 153. 

City officers, list of — 312. 313. 
Pound Masters — 26. 2,^,. 73. 
Pow-ell. Caleb — 122. 
Powell, Henry — 120, 122. 
Powell, Dr. Florace R. — 253. 
Powell, Joseph (1804) — 74- 
Power, Henry R. — 153. 
Power. Nicholas (foimder of Pough- 
keepsie Journal) — 55, 56, (x), 62, .S6. 
Powers, Thomas A. — 263. 
Pownal, Governor; reference to old 

print of "Pakepsey" — 10. 
Pratt, Mrs. Mary Morris— 248. 
Preston. Senator William C. — 131. 
Pritchard. James (Revolution)— 49. 
Pride's Tavern — 53. 

Provincial Congress. Delegates to — 35. 
Provincial Convention, Delegates to 

(1775)— 36. 
Pudney, Richard — 99, 102, 107, 112. 
Pugslcv, Frederick W. — 210. 248. 
Pultz. "J. I.— 216. 
Purser, Thomas (partner of M. Vassar) 

-«5. 
Putnam Cnnulv (part of Dutchess) — 

40, 54 
Putnam. Howard B. — 222. 
Putnam. Gen. Israel— 40. 41 ; follows 

Vaughn's ships— 43. 44. 

Q 

Quiglev. b'-dward -188. 
Quintard, F. 1'. (i8()o)— 161. 

R 

RadclifT. Jacob- 6y. 

Ridclilfe, John— 90. 

Riiilcliff. William (ShcrilT 1799)— 66. 

Railroads- 
hirst planned — 115. 137. 139. 
Central New I'lngland — 2,30. 
Dutchess & Columbia — 215. 216. 227. 
Dutchess County — 230. 
City R. R.— 216; 227, 244. 
I iarleni — 140, 214. 



Hudson River — 139-143, 210, 235; 
Subscribers to stock in 1847 — 
311- 

N. Y., N. H. & H.— 230. 

City, electric — 244. 

P. & E. — 214-216, 227, 230. 

Rhinebeck & Ct.— 216, 227. 

WallkiU Valley— 216. 
Ramsdell, Homer — 210, 230. 
Rand, J. B. G.— 212. 
Ranney, Thomas S. — 104, 144. 
Ransom, J. — 161. 
Ransom, Thomas H. — 263. 
Rapelje. Lawrence C. — 220. 
Ranch, C— 266. 
Raymond, John H. (Vassar College) — 

167. 203. 
Raymond, Mary Carrington — 202. 
Reade. John (Landing) — 77. 
Real hastate sales — no, 126, 136, 138, 216- 

219. 259, 260. 
Reckard, S. B. (i860)— 161. 
Records, early county deeds, etc. — 20. 
Records, early village — 72. 
Recorders, list of — 313. 
Red Hook (Vaughn's Raid) — 43. 44. 
Red Mills— 84, 156, 158, 209, 214. 
Reed, Henry A. — 161, 219. 
Reed, Rev. John — 90. 
Reed, Rev. John J. — 252. 
Refugees in 1778^51. 
Regiments — See Militia ; also for Civil 

War— 181-188, 197. 
Relay, Lewis — 81. 
Reliance (Steamer), names of persons 

serving on in Civil War — 312. 
Religious prejudices — 24. 
Rcnwick, James (architect) — 168. 
Republican Crisis (.Mbanv newspaper) 

—91. 
Republican Herald (newspaper 1811) — 

91, 92, 97- 
Rescue Mission — 251. 
Retail Merchants' Association — 239. 
Revolution — 34-54. 
Reynolds, Benjamin B. — 153. 
Reynolds, Clarence J. — 266. 
Reynolds. Egbert — 223. 
Reynolds, Harris S. — 264. 
Reynolds. Miss Helen W.— 23. 266. 
Reynolds, James, 1st — 78, 81. 83, 95, 96, 

101. 117. 
Reynolds, James, 2nd — 145, 175. 
Reynolds. James 3rd — 263. 264. 
Reynolds. William T. — 160, 210; biog. 

sketch — 293. 
Reynolds. William Winans— 138, 148, 

175. 20S. 210. 
Reynolds. William Wall— 146. 
Rhinebeck — 17. 68, 227. 
Rice, Rev. C. D.— 205. 
Rider. Rev. George T. — 205. 
Rider, William (innkeeper 179S) — 67, Ck). 
Riedengcr & Caire (i860) — 161. 
Rinders. Trintie and I Ic-len.i uiarricd 

1738, 1741—30. 
Ringwood, John F. — 263. 
Riordan. Rev. Michael — 147, 178. 
Ritter. Frederick Louis — 266. 
River trade, colonial — 28; increase after 

Revolution — 54. 81. 83; 1815-1850— 

117. 118. 142; recent — 210. 230-233. 
Rives. George L. — 222. 
Rives. Reginald W. — 259. 
Roads, early highways — 18, 26, 67; see 

also streets. 
Rr)berts. Charles H. — 161. 220. 
Robinson. Beverly- .33. 36, 38. 
Robinson. Charles (1851)— 167. 



1 NDE X . 



•d-2o 



Rnliiiison, E. G. (Vassar trustee)— 167. 

R^iliiiir..>n H. C. (.Mayor Hartford) — 221. 

K..l,in-on, John D.— 135. 

R.iliiii-iiii. John Starks (,1799) — 66. 

Roli>. .11. Adam — 161. 

Ri ■chc-.tt-r University — 167. 

Rockefeller. John L). (gifts to Vassar 
College)— .'48- 

Rockwell, William P.— 227 (note). 

Rogers, Archibald — 242. 

Rohr, Otto— 266. 

Romine, Isaac — 68. 

Rooniin (Remain?), David — 30. 

Roosevelt, Isaac, letters to Richard 
Varick (1788)— 58, 59. 

Roosevelt, Isaac (1830) — uj. 

Roosevelt, John .\. — 58, 60, 170, 222. 

Ross. Sanford & Baird — 228. 

Rothery, A. G. — 263. 

Rowing — 170, 171, 222, 263, 264. 

Rowland, P. S.— 161, 263. 

Rowley, Charles M. — 240. 

Rovce," W. A.— 138. 

Rubinstein Club— 266. 

Rudd. Theron — 89, 92, 93. 

Rudd, Zebnlon — 138, 192. 

Ruggles, Judge Charles II. — 123. 127, 
129, 172, 173. 17(1. 

Ruggles, Mrs. Charles II. — 183. 193. 

Ruggles, Henrv J., letter (|uoted — 121. 

Ruggles, Phik>^2. 

Rupley, Samuel K. — 237, 263. 

Ruppert, Jacob — 225. 

Russell, Isaac F. — 133. 

Rutgers, Anthony — 82. 

Rust Platz (name of stream) — 18, 148. 

Rutsen, Jacob (letter 1745 to Henry 
Livingston ) — 27. 

Rutzer, John H. — 141, 161, 259. 

Rynders, Harmen ( '"Stebo" or bell ring- 
er 1732) — 20, 21. 

Rynders, John — 26. 

Rysdyck, Rev. Isaac — 2^. 

S 

Sackett. Leonard !!. — i^^, 206. 22^. 224, 

248. 
Sackett, Nathaniel — 3(). 
Sackett, Richard (iMrst County Clerk) — 

20, 21. 
Sage. Russell — 230 (note). 
Sadlier, Dr. James E., biog. sketch — 294. 
Sague, Mrs. Horace — 251. 
Sague, John K. — 263. 
Salisbury Iron Works (Ct.) — 40, 44, 49. 
Salt Point — 143, 215. 
Sanders, Elsie (widow of Robert) — 19. 
Sanders, Robert (first Patentee)— 16, 18. 
Sands, James — loi. 
Sands, Henry and George — 32. 
Sands, Isaac G. — 2io, 215. 
Sands. Moses C— 162. 
Sands, William — 102. 
Sanford, G. (i860) — 161. 
Sanford, Hon. Nathan- 162. 
Sanford & Hull— is6. 
Sanford, Mrs. Peter P.— 148. 
Sanford, Robert — 162. 165, 207. 209; 

biog. sketch — 295. 
Sanford, Mrs. Robert— 266. 
Sanford, William N. — 247. 
Sanitary Fair — 193. 
Saratoga — 27. 39. 186. 
Saunders. Thomas — 21. 24. 
Sayres. John (1800—73. /S. 
Scarborough. Rev. John — 157, 252. 
Scheefer, Henrie — 24. 
Schell, William R.— 162. 



Schcnck, Abraham (1821) — 98. 
Schenck, Gysbcrt — 36. 
Schenck, John (Revolution)— 38, 41. 
Schenck, Paul (Revolution) — 39; store 

on Main St.— 86. 
Schcpnioes, Joseph — 247. 
Scliernierhorn, Elizabeth — 2^0. 
Schickle, William— 138, 264. 
Sclilosser, L.— 266. 
Schlude, George — 188. 
Schofield, Stephen (1813)— 82, 263. 
Schools — 

Gov. Clinton's message (1795)- 68; 
early — 89. 90. 

Academy, Dutchess Co., first — 64. 
65. 2^^: new — 124. 144. 165, 204. 

.\cadcmv. Pok. Female — 123, 145. 
165.' 254. 

Academy. Free (High School) — 165. 

Bisbee's High School — 165. 

Bishop's — 204. 

Rockee',s — 205. 

Brooks' Seminary — 205. 

Butler's Home Inst. — 205. 

Collegiate (College Hill)— 123. 124. 
144; abandoned — 204. 

Collegiate Inst. (Female) — 14.1. 165; 
Cook's — 205; Lyndon Hall — 254. 

Cottage Hill Seminary — 165, 176. 

Deaf Mutes— 165. 

Friends (Mansion Sq.) — 129. 145. 

Free Public Schools — 144, 143. i.tI. 

254- 

Mrs. Herrick's — 205. 

High School — 165, 204. 

Jcwett's — See Warring's, also Cot- 
ta.ge Hill. 

Law School — T43, 162, 165. 

Lancaster School — 90. 144, 146. 

Leslie' .s — 204. 

Lyndon Hall — 145, 254. 

Miley's— 3T4. 

Military Inst. — See Warring's. 

Mansion Sq. Female — 165. 

Pelham Inst. — 204. 205. 

Putnam Hall — 205. 

Onincy — 254. 

Riverview Military .\cademy — 204. 
254, 294- 

Warring's — 204, 203. 2^4. 

See also Eastman Cnlk-c and 
Vassar College. 
SchcMil Cnnnnissioncrs (first for Town 

of Pok.) — 69; see also education. 
Schoonmaker. Rev. Henricus — 2,^. 
Schram. William — 131. 
Sohram. Mrs. William— 183. 
Schrauth. Jacob and Sons, Edward and 

William H., biog. sketch — 293-296. 
Schryver, John T. — 104. 115. 138. 
Schrvver, Peter A. (1830)— 122. 
Schuster. Peter- 185. 
Schuvler, Col. Peter (sells land 1(399) — 

18. 
Schuyler, Philip (letter about, 174.3) — 

27. 
Schwartz. John— 235. 
Scoot, Jonas — 21. 

Scott. Thomas A. (Phibadelphia)— 220. 
Scott. William— 24. 
Scott. D. & Co.— t6[. 
Scoute. Svmon — t8. 
Seaburv. Rev. Samuel (founds I'.n.i.ilisli 

Church)— 23, 28. 
Seaman, George — 264. 
Seaman, Henry — 137. 
Seaman, Isaac N. — 239. 
Seaman, James Harvey — 133. 173, 1S8. 
Seaman, Nathaniel — 28. 



Seaman, Oscar Nelson, biog. sketch — 

297. 
Seaman, Stephen (Revolution) — 49. 
Sedgwick, C. H. & William (i860}— 161. 
Sedgwick, E. H. — 217. 
Seward, James A. — 192. 
Seward, William H. (election 1838) — 

129. 
Shatemuc Boat Club — 222. 
Shaw, Daniel — 49. 
Shaw, Henry W. (Josh Billings) — 153, 

154, 170, 171, 204. 
Shedd, Dr. O. M.— 247. 
Sheldon, Smith — 167. 
Slu-Uion, Wilson B.— 162. 
.'^heiman, Alfred — 177. 
Sherman, David S. — 112. 
Sheiman, (jcorgc H. — 244. 
Sherman, Howland R. — 117. 129, 143. 

Sherrill, Hunting — 84. 

Sherrill, Isaac W.— 244, 253. 

Shields, J<ihn W.— 136. 183. 

Shields, William— 161, 208. 

Shinplasters (1813)— <J5; (1837)— 128; 
(Civil War) — 192, 203. 

Ship I'.uilding, in Revolution — 39, 41, 49; 
in whaling days, 112; after 1837 — 
143, 158, 233; for ship yards also — 
77- 

Sliip Yard Point ( h'o.x's Point)— 39. 71. 

Shook, Jacob — 104. 

Shurter, James W. — 186. 

Shwartz, M. — 219, 314. 

Sickley, John C. — 250, 233, 264. 

Silk Company, Poughkeepsie (1833) — 
115, 116, 127. 

Silloway, Caroline — 254. 

Simmons, Edward H. — 173. 

Simpson & Beesmer (i8(k)) — 161. 

Simpson, Corneliu.s — 81. 

Simpson, Thomas — 146. 

Sincerbox. H. H,— 182. 

Sisson, Isaac — 172. 

Sketchley, A. M. & E.— 89. 

Skinner, Warren — 118. 153. 

Slater, James — 73. 81. 

Slavery in Poughkeepsie — 62-64 • Gen. 
Tallmadge — 96, 97: later politics — 
133. 172, 173; fugitive arrested — 133: 
list of people who freed their 
slaves — 301-302; slave births regis- 
tered — 302. 

Slee, John G.— 263. 

Slee, Robert — 160. 192. 206, 208. 220. 

Slee, Samuel (1814)— 84. 

Sleight, Henrv A. — 223. 

Sleight & Paulding— 137. 

Sloan. Jared (Gerard S.)— 78. 86. 

Smeart, George — 49. 

Smeedes. Jan (Indian ,leed. 1683) — 10. 
16, 17. 

Smillic, William C. — m7. 

Smith. Gen. Alfred B.— 137. 173. 173. 
1S2, 183. 197, 216, 220. 237. 

Smith, .\ndrew — 262. 

Smith. Anning — 220. 

Smith Brothers — 191. 233. 

Smith, Casper D. — 13S. 143. 147. 

Smitli. Devo — 219. 

Snn'th. Henry C— i8.v 

Smith. Isaac (.\menia, 1802) — 77. 

Snn'th. Isaac Piatt — 210. 

Smith, James (1773) — 36. 37. 

Smith. Col. James (of T28th Reg.) — 
182. 

Smith. Col. James (of 21st Reg.)— 222, 
262. 

Smith. James & Son — 161. 



326 



IX DE X . 



Smith, James Scott (ist Prcs. Village) 
—66, 67, /-'. 

Smith, John (1804)— 74- 

Smith, J. Edward — 25^. 

Smith, Rev. J. INI.— go. 

Smith, Kate — 351. 

Smith, Melancthon — 36, 40, 57, 61. 

Smith, Morgan L. — 167. 

Smith'.s Restaurant — 161. 

Smith. Samuel (1798) — 67. 

Smith, William (1804)— 74. 

Smith. William A.— 254. 

Smith, William C. (1848) — 149. 

Smith, William W.— 206, 250, 251, 252, 
262. 

Snedeker, Richard— 31, 52, 33, 36, 37. 41, 
47, 65. 

Social life— 59, 96, 221, 222, 263. 

Solomon, David (N. Y.)— 220. 

Sons of Temperance — 133, 194. 

Southwick. Edward- 39, 122. 

Soutlnvick, Rohcrt R.— 122. 

Southwick, Solomon — 104. 

Southwick, William C— 138. i.^3. 172. 

Southwick, Zadock — 83, 90, 168. 

Spaight, John W. — 148. 

Spalcr, Johannis (minister 1735) — 25. 

Sparks, James — 153. 

Specken Kill— 67. 84. 

Spiritualism— 1.38, 139. 

Sports— 88, 168-171, 221, 222, 263-264. 

Spring, R. — 219. 

Squire, William (Sheriff 1734)— 25. 

Staats, Henry — 182. 

Staatsbnrgh — 43. 

Stage travel— 56, 78, 118, 130, 141. 

Stanford (Town of)— 69. 

Stanton, J. C— 228. 

Stark, J. Weslcv — 173- 

Starr, John (1800)— S3. 

Starr, David M.— 145. 

State Govt, in Pok.— 46, 47. 51. 54. .S6. 
68. 

Steamboats, first— 82, 83; 181 5-1837— 
—117, 118; T837-1854— 142-143; af- 
ter 1854—158, 175. 210, 2.?o. 

Sterling, Francis N. — 182. 

Sterling, George W.— 151, 167. 172. i/''. 
igi. 

Sterling. William C— 138. 148. 151. 1(12. 

Stevens, I'raucis K. — 209. 

Stevens, I'rank L.— 188. 

Stevens, Sanniel (of .Mhany. 1845) — 

131- 
Stevens, William— 170. 
Stevenson. Dr. W. G. — 225, 250. 
Stewart, George — 67. 
St. Louis, Mo.— 166. 
Stockholm, .Aaron- (h;, 
Stockholm & Rrownjohu { printers)— <^2. 
Stone, A. ]'.. (N. \.)- 230. 
Storkc, H. L. (tele])lioiu' promoter) — 

239. 

Storm, Abraham G.— 89, 101, 102, 104, 
107, 112, 127, 138, 139. 147- 

Storm, Edward— 171. 212, 216, 217, 220. 

Storm King Bridge project — 228. 

Storm & Wilson (1813)— 86, 101. 

Stormville — 143. 

"Stranger" Crew — 171. 

Streets named— 64, (>7, 77. 10 i. 217; or- 
dinances — 305, .^oO. 

Street, Gen. Randall S.— 73. 78. ')0. 92, 
97- 

Street, William T.— 78, 129, 13'- 

Street, Albert Rilliiig.s— 78. 

Streit, Lewis F. — 153. 215. 

Streit & Lockwood— 158. 



Strippcl, Nicholas — 162. 

Stuart, Archibald — 53, (k), 77. 

Stuart, Robert — 2^7. 

Sturgis, John G. — 119. 

Stuyvesant, John R. — 170. 

Suffern, Thomas — 141. 

Surrogate's office — 130. 

Sutcliffe, Eli — 206. 

Sutcliffe, John — 212, 297. 

Sutherland, Henry A. — 206. 

Swan, Cyrus— 167, 168, 171, 172, 248. 

Swart & Lumb — 209, 288. 

Swartwout, Bernardus — 25. 

Swartwout, Cornelius B. — 86. 

Swartwout, Col. Jacob ( Jacol)us)— 36, 

38. 40, 61. 
Swartwout, Jacobus — 24. 
Swartwout, Johannes — 2b. 
Swartwout, John (1804) — 74. 
Swartwout, John B. — 121. 
Swartwout. Martin H. — i8t. 
Swartwout. Rudolf (Sheriff 172J)— 24. 
Swartz. Rev. William P. — 252. 
Sweet, .\bram N.— 133. 
Sweet, Eleazer D.— 138, I73- 
Sweet, Nehemiah — 108, 145. 
Sweet. George — 173. 
Sweet, Thomas — 82, 119. 
Sweelscr, iMnina Corning — 202. 
Swift, Beriah (Millbrook) — 1 17, 234. 
Swift, Charles W.— 131. 148, i53. >5.i- 

167. 168, 182, 208, 209. 220, 223. 248. 
Swift, Mrs. Charles W.— 193- 
Swift, Charles W. Jr.— 263. 
Swift, Elma Doremus — 202. 
Swift, E. M.— 172. 
Swift, Henry— 82, 119, 131. 
Swift, Lily (.Amenia L'nion) — 202. 
Svmphony Society — 250. 
Syimott, Rev. S. H.— 206, 207. 

T 

Tabc-r. Sanniel T— 138. 
Tabi-r, Thomas — 107, 115. 
Taber, William— 69. 89, 98. 
Tallevrand. Prince, in Pok. — 124. 
Talhuadgc, Charles B.— 86. 
Talhuadge, Charles W.— 122. 
Tallinadge, Elizabeth (daughter George 

Clinton) — 67. 
Tallmadge, Henry V. — 137. 
T.-illmadge. Gen. James Jr. — 55. 65, 74. 
89, 90, 92: the "Miss<iuri t'ompro- 
mise" — 96, 97; Lieut-Governor — 
103. 104. 
Tallmadge. Senator Nathaniel P. — 82, 
98, 107, 108, 112, 116, 123, 127, 137, 
139; leader of Conservatives — 128, 
130; Governor of Wisconsin — 138. 
Tallmadge, Thomas W. — 107, 122. 
Tallmadge, William PL— 145, 153. H'O. 

210. 
Tallman, John P. H.— 130. 145. 14S. 

162, 208, 216. 248. 
Tappen Elizabeth— 109. 
Tappeu. John — 25. 
r.ippeu. Maria — 127. 
I'appen, Dr. Peter, 1st- 30, 38, .¥). ^^■ 

46, 48, 49, 63, 64, 65, 68, 69, 109. 
ra|)pen. Dr. Peter, 2nd— 109. 
'l'a]ipen. Tunis — 30, 63. 
Tanner, Reuben- 188. 
lamieries— 83, 84, 1 16, 235. 
Tanzer, Rev. John — 147. 
Taylor, lulward P.— 149, 161. 
'lavlor. Mrs. I'-dward P. — 259. 
Taylor. Henry M.— 223. 248. 
Taylor, Hudson— 170, 192, 194, 220, 222, 
240. 



108, 
216. 



Taylor, James M. (Vassar) — 247. 
Taylor, Robert E.— 173, 175, 193, 20: 

223, 248, 2(36. 
Tax List, first for Middle Ward— 21. 
Taxes, paid by Counties in Revolution- 

48. 
Teflft, Thomas A. (architect) — 167. 
Telegraph, first office in Pok. — 140. 
Telephones — 237. 
Teller, Wm. B.— 167. 
Temperance Movcmetit — 133, 172, 251. 
Tenbruck. John (justice 1747) — 20, 25 
Tenney, Benjamin R. — 157. 
Ter Bos, Jacobus — 20, 25. 
Ter Bos, Johannis (judge 1734) — 25. 
Terry, Capt. Job, whaler — 115. 
Terry. William (1790) — 63. 
Thomas. Jacob (Revolution) — 39. 
Thomas. Dr. John — 90. 
Thomas. Dr. Williatn — 92. 98. lo. 

ng. 121. 153. 
Thompson. Daniel (M. & C. Ry.) 
Thompson. Daniel R. — 206. 
Thompson, J. Edgar (P. R. R. ) 



Thomp.son, Ezra (Const. Convention) — 

61. 6g. 
Thompson, Ezra, Jr. — 8g. 
Thompson, Frederick F. — 107. 248. 
Thompson, James — 107. 
Thompson, Jesse (Revolution) — 39. 
Thomp.son, John (father of Frederick 

F. Thompson) — 107. 
Thompson, John — 122, 130, 138. 142. 148. 

151, 167, 172-174, 176, 190, 216. 
Thompson, Mrs. John — 177, 183, 193. 
Thom])Son. Mrs. Mary Thaw — 248. 
Thomp.son. Judge Smith — 55. 77. 78. 98. 

102; candidate for Governor — 103; 

other references — 127, 129, 14S. 
Thorn, Edgar — 172, igo. 
Thorn, Gilbert — 104. 
Thorn, Herrick — 173. 182. 
Thorn, Joseph (Sheriff 1806)— 75. 
Thorn, Steplien — 115. 
Thorn, William (1802)— 77. 
Thorn. William T. — 190. 205. 225. 
Thorne. John S.— 182. 
Thome. Joseph. Jr. — 122. 
Thorne, Nicholas (1819) — 95. 
Thorne, Piatt M.— 182. 
Tice, Isaac — 172. 
Tice, Capt. Joseph — 117. 
Ticondcroga — 40. 
Tillotson. Thomas (1821)— 98. 
Titsor, William— 21. ,■'^ 
Titsort, Jacob— 21. 
Titus. C. G.— 190. 
Titus. Elias— T38. 
I'itus. Ohadiah — 102. 
Titus. Platl — 49. 
litus. Richard — 136. 
Tobey. A. G.— 205. 
Inmpkius. George H. — 223. 
Tompkins. Isaac — 133. 148. 171. 
Tomlinson. .Vbraham — T45, 165. 
Tooker, Mrs. C. W.— 193. 
Jacob C— r45. 165. 
William Wallace (authority as 
ndi;ui words)— II. 12. 13. 14. 15. 
, W II (whaling Capt. i837") — 



T,H,ke 
Tooke 



Topi,, 

1 

Torie 



iu Dutchess Count;, -3(i. 37. ^^■ 
.^9, 40. 41, 47, 48, 51: position after 
Revolution — 61. 

Toucey. John M. — 220. 

Tower, .Albert — 150. 234, 252, 297. 

Tower. .A. Edward — 234. 252. 

Tower. Charlemagne — 228. 



/ A' D E X 



327 



Towle, Charles — 171. 
Towner, Samuel — 69. 
Transportation Co., Poughkeepsie — 2\o, 

-233- 
Treasurers, City, list of — 313. 
Tripp, Robert C. — 183. 
Tripp. William A. — 225. 
Trivett, Elias— 86, 117, 123, 127, 139, 14S. 
Trowbridge, John — 171, 173. 
Trowbridge, Nathan Conklin — 86. 
Trowbridge, Stephen B. — 86, 123, i-|i. 
Trowbridge & Wilkinson (i8(x3) — 1(}[. 
Trumbauer, Horace — 260. 
Trumbull, Gov. (of Coiui. ) — 49. 
Trust Co. of Poughkeepsie — 106, 162. 292. 
Trustees, village of Pok — "^2, 304. 
Tuckerman, Joseph — 143. 
Tudor, Samuel — 39, 49. 
Tuesday Club — 250. 
Turick, Augustus — 26. 
Turner, Daniel H. — 173. 
Turiier, William — 108. 
Turnpikes. Dutchess — 7(1. 77. 88, 218; 

Highland (Post Road)— 73. 78; 

Beekman and Pawling — 78; Wawar- 

sing — 95 ; New Paltz — 95. 
Tuthill, Robert K. — 15?, 157, 180 181, 

212. 298. 
Tuthill, Samuel — 208, 298. 
Tweedy. Daniel 11. — 192. 
Tyler, Rev. Moses Coit— 178. 

u 

Uhl, Stephen— 161. 

Ulrich, A.— 266. 

Ulrich, F.— 217. 

Ulster Countv. Dutchess attached to— 19. 

Underbill, J. A.— 172. 

Underbill. Josiah ]. — 145. 162. 

Underbill. Mary — 251. 

Underwear Co., Poughkeepsie — 23(1, 237 ; 

sketch — 293. 
Underwood. Capt. Abraham — 118. 
Underwood, Rev. .\lmon — 122. 
Underwood. Charles — 153. 
Underwood. DeW'itt C— 183. 
Underwood & Son (i860) — i6r. 
Union Bridge Co. — 22i^. 
Union Store (L'nion Lauding) — 67. 69. 

71. 82. 
Union Street— 28. (18. 77. 



Valentine, A. J. — 177. 

Valentine. Richard — 78. 

Valentine, Edward W. — 266. 

Vail. Alonzo H.— 263. 264. 

Vail. Benjamin — 116. 

Vail. Benjamin M. — 160. 

Vail. Hiram — 173. 

Vail. Joseph I. — 209. 

Vail. Lewis H. — 244, 253. 

Vail. Thomas M. — 117. 138. 

Van Ale (Indian Mortgage 1682) — 11. 

Van Allc'i. Col. James H.— 178. 

Van Allen, J. J.— 222. 

Van Anden, Lsaac (founder Brooklyn 

Eagle)— 133. 
Van Anden. John — 67. 
Van Anden. William — 223. 
Van Benschoten. Eli.is (1716-1729) — 2r, 

22. 23. 25. 
Van Benschoten; l-^lias T. (1838) — 129. 
Van Benschoten, Elias. Jr. (Revolution') 

— 39. 62. 64, 67. (x). 
Van Benthuysen. Jan — 24. 
Van Benthuysen. Jacob — 108, 112. 123. 

130. 139- 



Van Benthuysen, Watson (New Or- 
leans) — 2.?0. 
Van Blarcom, Hendrick — 31. 
Van Bomell, Jacobus — 26. 
Van Briuit. Cornelius — 250. 
\'an Btunmel. Abraham — 33. 
\'an Btunmel. Leonard — 32. 
\'an ISuren, Martin (defeats Smitli 

Thompson for Gov.) — 103; visits 

l^ok. — 129. 
Van Campen, Jacob (Capt. 1734) — 25. 
Van Clcef, J. Spencer — 174, 175, 186, 

188. 222. 253. 
Van Cleef. .Mrs. J. Spencer — 266. 
Vanderbilt (Trace (name of slave freed 

1815 )-63. 
Van Den Bo.gart and Llarmse — 20; see 

also Errata at end of .'\ppcndix. 
Van Den Bogart. Isaac — 20. 
Van Den Bogart. Jacobus — 20. 21. 22. 
Van Den Bogart, Myndert — 20. 21. 26. 
\'au Den Bogart. Peter — 31. 
\';inderburgb. .A. — 222. 
Van Derburgh. .\nna (1735)— 30. 
\'.in Derburgh. Magdalene (1741) — .^o. 
Van Derburgh. William— 28. 
\';i\\ Derburgh. Henrv (second Countv 

Clerk)- 21. 22. 2% 2(), 37. 38, 
Vanderburgh. Col. bibn ( Kevolntinu ) — 

38. 
\'an Derburgh. Richard (1775)— 37- 
Van Derburgh, Richard (journalist 

1796) — 62. 86, 
\'andew;iter. John .\. — 22^. 
Van Dvke. Rev. Henrv (Christ Clunvh 

1787)— 68. 
Van Etten. Grant — 264. 
Van Gieson. Rev. A. P. — 22. S7. 6(1. 207. 

2,6, 224. 
Van Hoeseu. Judge George (N. Y.) — 

1(15. 
\'iii lugen. I'rof. Henry — 203, 250. 
\'an Keuren. Benjamin — 25. 
Van Keuren. lulward — 242. 
Van Keuren. John .-\. — 182. 
Van Keuren. Matthew (Revolution) — 

38. 43. 69. 
Van Kleeck. .Albert.— 172, 182. 198. 199. 
Van Kleeck &• Knickerbocker (18(10) — 

i6t. 
Van Kleeck. Baltus. 1st. or Balthazar 

(first of the Dutchess Co. V.an 

Kleecks) — 13. 17. iS. 19. 20. 
Van Kleeck, Baltus Jr. (1735)— 30. 
Van Kleeck. Barendt — 20. 21. 25. 
Van Kleeck. Corneliu.s — 77. 
\'an Kleeck. Davis— T 73. 
Van Kleeck, Edgar ^L — 176, 208. 212. 
\'an Kleeck. Edward — 248. 
\\an Kleeck, George — 139, 148. 172. 192, 

208. 
Van Kleeck. George M. — 161. 
Van Kleeck House — 19. 34, 40, 48, 4J. 

8r, 122; "White House"— 64, 
Van Kleeck, Hugh — 31, 32. 
Van Kleeck, Dr. James Livingston — 6.3, 

<)o. 
Van Kleeck. Johannes — 21. 22. 25. 
Van Kleeck. John— 25, a. 
Van Kleeck. Lawrence L (1830) — 122. 
Vaii Kleeck, Leonard — 2^, 31, i2. a, 30, 

64. 
Van Kleeck, Leonard B. (i8.?9) — 129. 
\"an Kleeck, Lowarancc (Lawrence) — 

21. 25, 30, 64. 
\'an Kleeck, Machiel— 25. 
\'an Kleeck, Mindert — 31, a, 36, 64, 67. 

68. 
Van Kleeck, Peter — 2i, 25, 30. 



Van Kleeck, Peter 2nd (married 1740) — 

Van Kleeck, Theodore — 170. 181, 222. 

Van Kleeck, Trintie (married Bartholo- 
mew Crannell) — ,?o. 

Van Kleeck. Tunis — 73. 86. 87. 107. 

V.m Kleeck. \V .liter— 170. 220. 

V.ui Kleeck. William A.— 160. 

\'an Loan. Benjamin — 3o6, 207. 

Van Loon, Rev. Charles — 133, 147. 

Van Ness, G. B. (1802)— 72, 75. 

Van Ness, Jacob (i824)-^i02. 

V.an Schaak, Frans De Lang and 
.MarMjcn — 22. 

V.m Seine, Rev. Cornelius (first pastor 
of Dutch Church)— 22. 

Van Sicklcn. .\ugustu.s — 263. 

Van Valkcnburgh & Coffin— 160. 

V.in Valkcnburgh. C. .A.- 162. 

\';in \'alkenburgh. John C. — 117. 

Van Valkenlnngh. J. E.— 122. 

Van Vliet. Arie (1771)— 32. 

Van Vliet, Benson — 251. 

Van Vliet. Ge(Mge — 222. 

V.ui Vliet. Iliram 11. — T17. 

Van Vliet. Piatt G.— 215. 

Van Vliet. Ttmis— 26. 

Van Wagenen. Evert — 21. 25. 

Van Wagenen. Gerrit (Capt. 17,^0) — 25. 

Van Wagenen. Hubert — no. 

Van Wagenen, Nicholas (1735) — 30. 

Van Wagenen. Peter L.— 237, 263. 

Van Wagner. John — 1^7. 

\'an Wanner. John A.— 222. 

Van Wagner. William 11. Jr.. "Pough- 
keepsie Blacksmith" — 139. 

\'.in Wyck. .'\braham — 67. 

\'an Wvck. Cornelius — 25. 

V.m W\ck. C. S.— 209. 218. 

Van Wyck, Isaac — 56. 

Van Zandt. Jacobus (Revolution) — 40. 

Varick, Abraham — 14s. 

Varick, Ann (devisee of Geo. W. Clin- 
ton) — 67. 

Varick. Henry D. — 148. 153. 210. 220. 

Varick. Mary — 2()6. 

Varick. Remsen — 222. 

Varick. Richard A. — 109. 

Vas. Rev. Petrus (of Kingston) — 22. 

Vassar. Ann (1807) — 90. 

Vassar Brewery (Vassar St.) — 85. to8; 
(river) — 118. 136, 142, 233. 

Vassar Bros. Home for Aged Men — 248, 
250. 

Vassar Bros. Hospital — 207. 248. 250. 

Vassar Bros. Institute — 146. 250. 

Vassar. Carrie Elizabeth — 202. 

Vassar, Charles — 136. 

Vassar College, founded — 166-T68; open- 
ed, first faculty — 202-204; recent de- 
\elopment — 247. 248. 

Vassar. James (father of Matthew) — 
81. 85. 

Vassar John Guy. 1st — 85. 

Vassar. John Guy. 2nd — 81. 167. 247. 
248, 252. 

Vassar, Margaret (mntlier of J. G. .and 
Matthew. Jr.)— 81. 

Vassar. Matthew — 85. (>8. 104. 107. 108. 
112. 117. 119, 123. 139, 140, 14T. 14(5. 
148. i()6-i69. 192. 204. 263. 

V'assar. Matthew. Jr. — 81. 129. 167. 16S. 
175. 182. igo. 208. 210. 217. 220. 22i. 
2\1. 252. 

Vassar. Thomas — 136. 

\'assar. Thomas E. — 157. 183. 

Vaughn's Raid (Revolution) — 42-46. 

Vaux & Withers (N. Y. architects) — 
209. 



82S 



I N DB X 






Wlunan, Hiram — 123, 139. 

W-niont, Capt. (1796)^-62. 

\"cim)nt, John P. (1798)— 69. 

Vcrcin, jMichael (1803) — yi. 

Vcr Valin, David — 117, 122. 

Vcr Valin, Isaac H. — 108. 109. 117. 

V'olnnteers (Civil War list) — 175-185. 

Vicle, Arnout Cornelissen (first Indian 
deed Town of Ponghkeepsie, 1680) 
II. 16, 17. 

Vielee (Fielee) Pieter — 21. 22, 26. 

Village Hall— see City Hall. 

Village of Pok. incorporated — 70; or- 
ganized — 72. 

Vilen, Mindert, marriage 1740 — 30. 

Vincent, David D. — 162. 

Vincent, Edward — 171. 

Vincent, Gilbert I. — 117, 129, 145. 

Vincent, James — 115. 

Vincent, J. W. — 173. 

Vocal Union — 266. 

w 

Waddell, Eleanor ( US07) — 90. 

Waddoll, Isaac (1807) — 90. 

Wa.ijL-r. Ambrose — 182. 191. 

Wakelev, Rev. M.— 176. 

Walker, S. L. (i860)— 161. 

Wallace, Eliot & Co.— 235. 

U allace. Sir James — 43. 

Wappingers (early scheme of settle- 
ment) — 17. 

Wappingers Falls — 130. 

War of 1812 — 91, 92, 95. 

War relief (Civil)— 176, 177, 188, 193. 

Ward, Alson — 251. 

Ward, Daniel O.— 172. 

Ward. Dr. David B. (biog. sketch) — 
298. 

Ward, James H. — 1(», 237, 239. 

Ward, "Josh" — 170. 

Ward. Thomas J. — 263. 

Wardwell, Allen (1806)— 81. 

Warner, A. C. — 101. 

Warner, Charles (1S33) — 139. 

Warner, Jonathan — 204, 20S. 

Warner, Richard — ,y, 49. 

Warner, Thomas (1739) — 66. 67. 

Warring, Charles B. — 165, 204, 205, 254. 
256. 

Washington, Gen. George — Orders lire 
rafts built at Pok. — 40; urges haste 
in building ships and chain — 40; 
visits to Pok. — 50, 98. 

Washington Hollow — 214, 215. 

Washington (Town of) — 69. 98, i.?6. 

Wassaic — 214. 

Water Commissioners, ist — 212. 

Water supply — 72. 74. 109. 118. 119: 
Cannon St. Reservoir — 1 19-120. 149, 
154, 219; new — 210, 211, 247. 

Watkins, William B.— 237. 

Wayland, Rev. I'Vancis — 90. 

Webb. Dr. DeWitt— 217, 223. 225. 

Webendorfer, Henry — 259. 

Webster, Daniel (visit to Pok.)— 13T. 

Weed, Thurlow — 103. 

Weeks, James H. — is3. 176. 1S2. 212, 
222, 248. 

Welling, James M. — 215. 

Wells, Jamcs-67. 

Welsh, Walter— 215. 

Welton, Rev. Alonzo — 121. 

Wendover, J. A. (1836)— 120. 

West & Depew (i860)— 161. 



West Point in Revolution — 49, 50, 52. 

West, Robert— 224. 

West, William B. (1S60)— 161. 

Westerfelt. Casparus — 26. 

Westerfelt (Westervelt ). Roelif— 2O. 

Westervelt. Benjamin — 68. 

Westervelt. F.lias (1838)— 129. 

Westfalle. Wouter — 25. 

Whale Dock — 112, 114, 115. 143, 150. 151. 

Whalen. Patrick— 185. 

Whaling Companies. Ponghkeepsie — 

no, 112, 135; Dutchess — 112, 115, 

135. 136. 
Wheeler, Corydon — 252. 
Wheeler, Rev. Francis B. — 176, 216. 
Wheeler, S. B.— 208. 
Wheaton. Caroline T. (Mrs. Charles) — 

271. 
Wheaton, Judge Charles — 176. 188. 216. 

220; biog. sketch — 298. 
Wheaton, Homer — 107, ir^, 139. 
White, C— 173. 
White, Edward — 205. 
White, Ezra — 225. 240. 254. 
White (Wite). Isaac (1731") — 30. 
White, Isaac W. — 182, 209, 216, 217, 220. 
While, William — 122. 
Whitehead, Rev. Charles — 145, 147. 
Whitehead, Charles C— 188.' 
Whitchouse, John O. — 192 



■23. 



)5, 206, 209, 
property — • 



210, 220, 

260. 

Whigs and Tories (Revolution) — 35. 36. 
Whinlield, Henry — 123, 136, 139. 
Whipple, Frank E. — 160, 192, 222. 
Whitney. Myron — 266. 
Wide .Awakes — 173. 
Wiethan, Louis — 158. 
Wickcs, Edward A.— 182. 
Willier, Edwin J. — 161, 205. 
Wilber, Emmet A. — 263. 
Wilbcr, John D. — 209. 
Wilber, Mark D.— 165. 178. 183, 191, 

205, 209, 214. 215. 216. 217, 220. 
Wilcox, Roswell (Revolution) — 39. 
Wilkinson. .Arthur— 178, 181, 183. 
Wilkinson, C. S. — 181. 
Wilkinson, Fred — 182. 
Wilkinson, George — 117. 153. 154. 172. 

T92. 314. 
Wilkinson. Gilbert — <)5. 100- ro2. 107, 127. 

129. 
W^ilkinson. John P.— 182. 
\\'ilkins()n, Robert — 101. 129. 
Wilkinson, Mrs. Robert— 147. 
Wilkinson, Robert F. — 157, 1S2. 215, 220, 

224, 225. 
Wilkinson, William — 174. 178. 
Williams. Capl. .Xbr.iham ( Rivolution") 

Williams. Charles II. S.— 171, 174. 224. 

Williams, Gerome — 175, 190. 

Williams, James L. — 206, 225, 254, 264; 

biog. sketch — 299. 
Willi.uns, Toseph — 127. 
\Vi1li;uns, Josenh D. — 177. 185. 
Williams, Willinm (1826)— 121. 
Williamson, Griffin — 107, 122. 
Willis, Col. Samuel (Rcvohition) — 43. 
Wilson. Archibald — 219. 
Wilson, George S. — 17T. 
Wilson, Senator Henrv (Mass.) — 173. 
Wilson. James (SherilT 1735) — 25. 
Wilson, Tames — 81. 90. 
Wilson, John (1798)— 67. 



Wilson, John S. — 230. 

Wilson, William — 138. 

Wiltsie, -Abraham — 117, 127, 161, 206, 
208, 225. 

Wiltsie, Cornelius — loi. 

Wiltsie. Hiram S. — 264. . 

Winans, Elsworth L. — 259. 

-Winans, James — 28, 31, 36, 44, 67, 81. 

Winans. Joel — 210. 

Wing, John — 216. 

Winslow, Edward — 222. 

Winslow, James — 173. 

Winslow, Mrs. James — 193. 

Winslow, John (ist City Marshal) — 
.. 153. 185. 

Winslow, John F. — 193, 209, 216. 220. 

Winslow, Mrs. John F. — 252. 

Winslow, Leonard C. — 206, 251. 

Wisconsin (Pok. people settle there) — 
.. ^38.. 

Wisconsin Regiment in Pok. — 185. 

\\'ise, Hon. Henrv A. — ni. 

Wodell. Silas— 173. 

Wolfe. John David— 141. 

Women's Christian Temperance L'nion 
— 251. 

W(.)od. F'annie A. — 203. 

W'ood, Hiram W. — 171. 

Wood. Isaac H. — 171. 233. 

Wood. James G. — 21 1. 220. 

Wood. William H.— 242, 254. 

Wooden. Homer — 170. 

Woodin. Capt. William R.— 182. 188. igo. 
2ig. 

Woods. John (primer 179S) — 62. 

Wool trade — 117. 136. 

Woolsey. Melancthon L. — 67. 77. 

Worden, Lieut. John L. — 202. 

Worrall, William— 217, 218. 

Wray. Harry — 146. 

Wright. .Abraham — 156. 206, 212. 220. 

Wright & Irish (1860")— 161. 

Wright, Rev. D. G.— 165. 183. 254. 

Wright. Jere D.— 263. 

Wright, Jere V. — 222. 

Wright. Joseph — 127. 

Wright. Mary Elizabeth — 202. 

Wright. Norman — 263. 

Wvomin.g (storv of massacre first pub- 
lished at Pok.)— 50. 

Wynachkec (Winnakee). Indi.in name — 
II. 15. 



A'.icbt Club— 264. 
^\■lverton. .Anthony — 20. 29. 
^■elverton. Cjale — 2}. 
N'elverton, John H. P.— 153. 
>'elverlon, Moses (1804) — 74. yf^. 
>oung. .A. M. (Waterbury. Cl.)— 237. 
^■oun,g, Henry L. — 110. 162. 
Young. Mrs. Henry L. — 177. 
Young. William (1807) — 90. 
Young. William H. — 259. 264. 
Young. W. C. — 141. 
Young Men" Christian Union — 157. 
Young Men's Christian Association- 

157. t88. 206. 250. 251. 
Young Women's Christian .Association- 



Vonkers— 148. 186. 



Ziegenfuss. Rev. Henry L.— 252. 263. 
Zimmer. II. — 219. 
Zinmier. P. — 266. 



